


Pokemon Go: Chronicles of a Changed World

by SilentTypist



Category: Pokemon - Fandom, Pokemon GO
Genre: Isekai, Real world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:40:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 40,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29909505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentTypist/pseuds/SilentTypist
Summary: A collection of tales featuring Pokemon struggling to adapt after being transported to a strange and alien world, one so familiar with them but not vice versa.Based off of ISparki's work on the Alternate History Forums.
Kudos: 1





	1. 40k From a Ninetales Perspective

**Author's Note:**

> As illustrated in the summary, this story is a collection of tales I penned based on the Pokemon Go story written by ISparki on the Alternate History forums. 
> 
> Originally these works were meant to function as omakes, never intended to be posted anywhere but that site. At the prompting of fellow writers and the like however, I have decided to post these works here so a greater mass of readers may be exposed to them outside a site that is locked down by an account requirement. 
> 
> Hence forth, here I feature the first of a series of tale that may or may not be expanded upon. 
> 
> You can find the original thread here at https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/wi-all-of-the-pok%C3%A9mon-spawned-in-the-pok%C3%A9mon-go-game-suddenly-became-real.403709/.
> 
> Without further ado, here are the tales of a world forever changed by the appearance of creatures once considered fictional.

"So... This is 40k."

"A bloodier aspect of it, yes."

The ninetales grimaced as the Ultramarine smashed an orc with his gauntlet before driving his chainsword through the foul greenskin's stomach. A bolt from his pistol smashed through a gretchin wretch that was attempting to sneak up on him. The .75 round turned the greeenskin's body into to so much paste, the pathetic thing not even enough to register on the machine spirit's sensors as it slammed into a more worthy target, namely a tankbusta that was about to hurl a grenade. The bolt burrowed into the filthy hide of the greenskin before the internal sensors detected the optimal area at which point it detonated. The grenade the ork carried dropped to the ground. Two seconds later, the explosive detonated. A chain reaction was set off as the other explosives on the ork’s person was set off in unison, sending shrapnel, limbs, green ichor and other pieces of orks that were unfortunate enough to be close to the tankbusta flying in all directions. As the smoke cleared, Captain Titus smiled at his handy work. Nothing but scorch marks, limbs and the new paint job that the bunker now boasted illustrated that the green horde once walked these grounds. Captain Titus paused to assess his surroundings. Seeing no more orks in the immediate vicinity, his stance eased. With deftness common to the noble astartes his bolt pistol was reloaded in quick succession as he moved down the hallway deeper into the facility. The screen faded to black, transitioning to a loading screen with a picture of the next level prominent.

The human she stood next to hit the pause button the moment the next level loaded. She glanced to her newest companion as he turned to her.

“What is it?”

"Do you want me to stop and find something else for you to look at Rose? You seem perturbed."

Rose shook her head. "No Andrew, I am fine. I have seen sights just as bad back in the wilds of Virdian Forest and Mt. Moon, if not as... Gruesome as what is show here. It comes with the territory of living in the wild.” She said with a wave of her paw.

“I suppose that is to be expected.” Andrew said. 

“The wild is an unforgiving place where mistakes are punished. I should know considering I have dealt with being on both ends of that reality.” She shrugged. “Compared to what I have seen, I am not such a pup that I can’t handle dealing with a little gore. Living in a place where beedrill and scythers are present means that is an inevitability. But I appreciate the gesture.” 

“No prob. But still, let me know if you want to see something else.” 

“Like I said Andrew, there is no need to fret. I will let you know if something is to my disinterest. Besides, I am curious as to what this fiction of your world has to offer. Certainly nothing like I have seen back in Kanto. I wouldn’t mind continuing to observe you play this video game of yours." Again she shrugged. “Though it would appear that you wish to desist for now.” 

Andrew saved his progress before setting the controller aside, his attention turned as he picked up a water bottle beside him and took a sip. 

“Yeah, I would like to take a little break from this play session. Not that I don’t enjoy playing, but I'm kinda feeling out of it right now.” Rose straightened, her ear standing at attention. 

“Are you unwell? I did not mean to push you.”

“Nah, just a small headache from not getting enough sleep last night. Some sleep should do the trick, although-” He said, looking at his wrist watch. “-It isn’t time for me to sleep yet. Don’t want to screw up my sleep schedule and all that. Even though work has been cut off this week due to you guys just popping out of nowhere, I still want to maintain it. God knows that getting back to some normal schedule can be a bitch, especially with this adderall keeping me up at night.” He picked up a bottle filled with orange tablets and held it out for her to see.

Rose stared at the bottle for a few seconds before giving it a sniff. She recoiled a few seconds later as pungent smell of medicinal herbs permeated her senses. Her nose wrinkled as she took a deep breath of fresh air to purge her sense of the vile thing. 

“Arceus, this adderall smells awful. It’s like someone took up those medicinal herbs back in Viridian, grounded them up and somehow made them worse. I can only imagine the taste if the smell is anything to go by.” 

“That’s why I down it with water. The taste sticks around otherwise.” Andrew said, returning the tablets back to the table. 

“If they keep you up, why take them? This lack of sleep isn’t good for your health.”

“Because of a little known disorder called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Or just ADHD for short. Put simply it’s something which causes me to be distracted easily. These pills-” He pointed to the bottle. “-keep me both alert, awake and focused. Not to mention not taking it now just causes me to withdraw. Which means being drowsy the whole day.” 

Rose frowned. She glanced at the bottle for a second before huffing.

“Perhaps you might wished to work on weening yourself off of them if they cause such problems. Being sleep deprived is never a good thing. It does one’s body a disservice.” 

“Perhaps, but that’s a topic for another time. Maybe I will try to ween myself off it, but not today.” 

“I hope that you do.” She paused, scrutinizing the human before her.

“I sense that you have a few things on your mind that you wish to talk about.” 

Andrew nodded. 

"I find it curious that a being such as yourself would be so intrigued by our stuff. One would think that a wildling like yourself would hold no interest in the affairs of humans unless it was to their benefit, especially since you are a Ninetales."

**&&**&&

"Normally that would be the case. However seeing as I have awoken in this new world, I thought it was only natural to start learning about it and what it has to offer. Considering that you did 'catch' me to only to help avert a fate that would have left me a beaten pulp, I considered it the least I could do to learn about the person that helped me. Even if only for a short duration while I stay here. Although-" She paused, a smirk worming to her muzzle. "-I believe I may just stay here longer than for just a few days considering the danger out there at the moment. Besides, I am quite curious of humans more than what my kind normally would be otherwise." 

"I suppose. I never expected to see a Pokemon in my life, let alone a ninetales of all things getting gained up on the road I was traveling on. Though it may get difficult to feed the both of us considering that I usually live alone." 

"I am sure we shall manage. I am more than capable of fending for myself so as to lessen the burden between us." Her tails twitched upward, poised as the elegant huntress. "After all, I am still young by my kind's standards. I still have yet much to learn about both the world and myself. If Arceus presents me an opportunity to learn about something, then I shall. It is what mother taught me, you never stop learning about the world around you and yourself. It’s how I have managed to survive so long in the wild.” She paused, glancing at her surroundings. 

“Speaking of which...” 

She noted the pile of clothing that was piled up in the corner. A few dishes sat on the desk next to the room’s computer. Scraps of trash littered the desk. Other random assortment of items laid unorganized on the tabletop. Put simply, the place was a mess. 

“Okay. I cannot tolerate the state of this room any longer.”

Her fur bristled, wondering how long Andrew this place as it stood. 

“I take it that you aren’t a fan of the room.” Andrew said. 

Rose gave him a pointed stare.

“One of the first things I was taught is that you always keep a proper den, not just for yourself but your potential mate and pups.” 

The human’s lips turned ever so slightly downward.

“I can see by the look of your face on just what you think of this room in particular. You held your tongue longer than I thought you would.”

“My apologies Andrew, but this place is… How do I put this politely?”

“A dump?”

“No, certainly not that bad. But I will say that you have done a poor job of keeping this place tidy. It seems you have tried to keep it neat. But I smelled the results the moment I stepped into this room. The rest of the place is fine. More or less.” Rose paused, gathering her thoughts. Her ears perked as Andrew sighed.

“I don’t disagree. Truth be told I haven’t done the best of keeping this place clean. Usually it isn’t this bad but things in the past few days just made me not give a shit to be honest.” Rose shook her head, eyes looking on in disapproval. 

“A vulgar way to describing it, but accurate. This is hardly a den worth respecting, and your attitude about it even less so.” She said with a huff. 

“Like I said, I usually keep things here so it doesn’t get to that point. But the last few days have been rather hard on me, dealing with both the rent and the trouble caused by the arrival of your kind.”

“I can smell that the problems here have persisted for longer than that. You’re like a pup who hasn’t been taught how to properly care for oneself.” Andrew shifted, his head pointed down as he twiddled his thumbs. 

Rose starred, putting two and two together.

“Wait. You don’t mean to tell me you haven’t been taught, have you? 

“Some of the basics yes, and I have a listed note of instructions in one of my drawers somewhere around here to help me through it. But yeah...”

Rose’s jaw dropped. 

“By Arceus, you are out here on your own and you don’t know how to take care of yourself?”

“I do, just not very well for the moment. I have gotten better at it though.”

Silence permeated the room as Rose digested this information.

“He’s just a pup out here on his own. No wonder why this place was a mess.”

Rose shook her head. The ninetales moved towards Andrew and jumped up on the couch he was sitting on. She gave the human a hard stare.

“So you mean to tell me that your parents left you out here to fend for yourself?” 

“No, no, no.” Andrew said, hands raised. “They did prepare me. I wanted to go out here to try and fend for myself for a little while. The man who owns this apartment is a close friend of my dad. So he gave me a discount price for a few months to help get me started out here. It’s close to the place that I work at, so we decided it would be a good opportunity to get some experience living out here on my own. And it worked to a degree. Sort of.”

Again Rose stared in disbelief. 

“This human is but a naive, lazy pup. A well intended pup, but a pup nonetheless. It’s a wonder that he managed to live out here like this at all. He said he has been here for only a couple months, yet the place already shows signs of neglect. He said he has been keeping on it, but at the rate he keep neglecting this place...” Rose shuddered. She had seen dens where their owners simply did not bother to keep the place up to standards. Those were individuals that more often than not were sickly things, even if they were in good health they never would attract a mate. 

She stood in thought for a few moments. 

“I can’t let this go. I own this human for saving my life. The least I could do is put this pup to muster and instill a proper education to fend for himself and more. Not just leave it like this.” 

She thought back to the day before. If what she had heard was any indication, the area was still quite dangerous with Pokemon continuing to pop out of nowhere, often in a panicked state. Which usually meant a lot of corpses and damaged property when they ran into the humans carrying those guns. Another shudder passed through her. 

“To think that these humans carry something so dangerous on their person. To be so common too. Then again, Andrew did use one to save my life, and it isn’t as if the humans here know how effectively defend against a rampage of angry Pokemon otherwise that wouldn’t render them dead. Not that there are many ways to stop a herd of rampaging tarouses without killing them anyway. Besides with the way things are currently right now, it would probably be best for me if I were to lay low for a while anyway.” Her mind made up, she turned to face Andrew. He had since turned off the console and television, and was in the process of gathering the pile of clothing into a basket. 

“Andrew, I have come to a decision about staying here.” Andrew stopped what he was doing and turned to face her.

“Oh? And what would that be? I won’t blame you for not staying here. Since this place is currently a mess and all that. 

Rose couldn’t help but roll her eyes. 

“About that, I have decided to stay here for the foreseeable future.”

Andrew paused. His posture stood uncertain, but he looked on with intrigue.

“For precisely how long is the foreseeable future?”

“Considering the situation out in the wild, and the sorry state of your abode, I have elected to stay here on a more permanent basis. Probably for several months at least.” Rose saw the blood drain out from Andrew’s face. 

“Oh. Well, that might be difficult to house the both of us, considering that-”

“About that Andrew, I have decided that I will also help educate you to better care for yourself.”

“… Say what? Why?”

“Oh come now Andrew. You did help save my life after all, and did decide to give me shelter. If only for a little while. Even accounting for how you are both struggling to take care of yourself and reluctance to care for someone other than your own for a long period of time without benefit to yourself, you decided to do the right thing and help someone in need. The least I could do is help you better yourself in some capacity. Not to mention, we can protect each other from the madness that is currently occurring out in the world right now.”

Andrew starred, silent for a few moments before sighing. 

“Well, I can’t say that I know what I feel about this. I mean on one hand I am glad you’re staying. But I wonder if I could even care for the both of us. Or even want to care for a second tenant, what with being selfish like that.” He said, scratching his head.  
Rose smiled. She walked up to Andrew and gave him a small nuzzle. 

“Andrew, I do believe that this will benefit the both of us. Perhaps it was fate that we found each other. I get to learn more about this world from you, while you get to learn more about how to better yourself. Perhaps it was preordained by Arceus Himself that we are fated to meet like this.” She said with a chuckle. 

“I wouldn’t know about it being preordained by Arceus, but I won’t say that this is an unpleasant surprise. A roommate would be nice, and a ninetales at that.”

“You flatter me. But do you agree with allowing me to stay here?”

“Sure. I don’t think Mr. Jackson will mind your presence. So as long as you don’t burn down the complex down.” He smirked. Rose returned the smile. 

“You wound me Andrew, to think that a ninetales would so easily lose control of her flame.”

“Just checking.”

“Mmm. Now with that out of the way, I do believe that we should start cleaning this den of ours.”

Andrew’s face fell. 

“Ah, guess we should.” Rose gave Andrew a playful bump of her nuzzle. 

“Oh relax. From what I have seen if all goes well, we should be done with the most important stuff by the day’s end.”

“If you say so.” 

“But of course. Now, let’s get these clothes into the basket...” The clothes lifted into the air and were dumped into the basket. For the next few hours, the two spent the day neatening up the place. While they were not done by the day’s end, they made substantial progress in livening up the place. 

It would be the start of something wonderful, though neither knew of what was to come down the line, it would cement a greater friendship that would last throughout the ages. 

Fin.


	2. Humans Are Lunatics

Humans are lunatics. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, their kind is all sorts of crazy that only Hoopa can dream of in a fever pitch nightmare. I suppose there is a charm to their unique brand of eccentricities, since that is probably what has allowed them to thrive in such a mad world. But for the life of me, I’ll never understand what makes them think of their hair brained ideas, like trapping us into tight little balls to fight at their leisure. Or how they managed to convince Pokemon to stay with them willingly. I can only hazard that the balls must be brainwashing them, despite all claims to the contrary. Maybe. Could be just my paranoia. 

Don’t get me wrong, It isn’t like I hate em. But being partnered with a human who may or may not force you to battle against your will or doing whatever Arceus knows what? Pass. You like it? Fine. But it ain’t for me. That lifestyle is too hectic for my liking. I’m just a mon content to subsist on whatever pickings I can find when I chance upon it. Who knows? Maybe I can evolve into an unfeazenat one of these days and get a pretty lady for a mate and have a family. That’d be nice. 

Of course that is assuming I can get out of whatever place Giratina pulled from the Distortion World. I don’t know where “here” is, but I do know this ain’t Unova. It looks similar, but there are things off about it if ya catch my drift. 

Like for instance, the signs and buildings are all off. The landmarks are all different. Lots of roads with an absurd number of human cars. Lots of trees surprisingly enough and a few waterfronts which are nice enough. But it still ain’t Unova. I mean get this, there’s lots of actual animals that aren’t Pokemon here, more than I can shake a wing at in any case. Dumb as rocks too except for any screeching, squealing, or barking that they do. Easy prey for the most part, enough that even a rattata can take em down. 

But then there are the humans. Oh Arceus the humans. You wouldn’t think they be deadly, and you’d be right for the most part. A human by its lonesome isn’t gonna cut it much against anything larger than a rattata, much less say something like a tranquill like yours truly. Of course they have Pokemon to fight for em, which is why it ain’t a good idea to attack them in the first place because of all the Pokemon they sometimes get. Strong ones too. Then if not that, they’ll sometimes bring their weapons along like spears, clubs, or even guns. They do alright, ranging from threatening to dangerous, but as long as you know how to deal with them, you’ll be okay. Save for maybe guns. Those things will definitely ruin the day of anything that isn’t a steel, rock, or any type that’s resistant to that sort of stuff the shoot at you with. Thing is most humans usually don’t carry that type of stuff, so unless you are exceptionally unlucky, you can do alright against a human. 

But here? Oh no, it isn’t that easy for a mon such as me I’m afraid. It seems every other damn human in this place is packing heat of one form or another or is with one who does. I’m not talking about the uniformed types like the police, rangers or even military. No, I am talking about their plain old humans who carry anything from a pistol to full blown assault rifles. Some of them half decent enough to actually shoot straight too, which is a pain. Now this wouldn’t be so bad. So as long as you don’t bother them, humans don’t usually shoot you. But I have been shot at three times in the past week just because I passed too close to their dwellings. Then again, it seems some Pokemon have gone completely mad, attacking them for no bloody reason except mad rage. So I guess I can understand why they are so ready to shoot on sight. Still, that doesn’t make my life any easier.  


Then there are the uniformed military types with a starry banner stitched on the side of their shoulders. Those are the ones you definitely don’t wanna piss off, and yet another clue that this ain’t Unova. Word on the branch from the mons I talked too is that we are apparently on an entirely different planet that had no Pokemon to speak of until about a few weeks before I arrived. That was… A revelation to say the least. The fact many aren’t friendly because some mons are spawning in all feral like or worse, attacking anyone they come across that ain’t in their in group just to be a bunch of cloacas certainly isn’t making my life any easier. Of course, such mons usually don’t last long. Humans have an itchy trigger finger around these here parts, and they got the firepower to back it up. To say nothing of their military, who by the way are a large part of the reason said mons don’t remain a problem for long. Enough to take out a tyrannitar at any rate. 

I don’t know which is worse. The fact I could have been one of those mons coming in utterly yoicks, or the fact that the humans here have access to such firepower in great abundance to win against a pseudo legendary in the first place. Actually scratch that, the former is certainly worse. At least with the latter I can actually comprehend myself. But still, the latter disturbs me. Even if they bleed for it, they still can managed to down such a Pokemon without the aid of other Pokemon helping them. Apparently some of them are mad enough to close in with a metagross and hit it with a fire bottle. Did I mention that these humans are lunatics? Because they are. 

So here I am, stuck in a place far from home that is hostile to Pokemon and far from sanity. Though at least the food here is good. So as long as you don’t overtly make any threatening displays or attack them, you’ll be mostly alright. 

So yes, things could be better. But they could be worse. Just gotta watch where I fly and not poke my beak where it don’t belong and I’ll be fine. It helps that I met Li. She’s a linoone I met not too long after I got here whose in the same situation as I am. We make an alright duo all things considered, enough to avoid the worst of it all. I fly and spot good places for food and other essentials, then Li pulls it out for us to eat. Not quite what I had in mind when first coming here, but things are more or less the same in routine since we met each other. (Save for the few close calls we had with less than friendly Pokemon or humans. My wing still hurts from hitting that branch to dodge that rabid raticate.) 

In sum total of my appraisal since I got here? Things are different but otherwise the same. Stressful to be sure, but similar enough that it hasn’t been too bad. Save for the armed humans of course, which complicates things. Rumor has it they even took down a legendary. Honest to Arcues, I can accept that they could take on something like a tyrannitar. But a legendary? That isn’t possible. To take one down… Well, it just isn’t done save for with a team of powerful Pokemon or another legendary. It just isn’t done with a human alone. But then again with all the firepower they have…

In any case, I am still trying to get my bearings here. I suppose if nothing else this little talk with this gadget here has helped a little. Thank Li for that, it was her idea. On that note, I need to wrap things up, throat’s getting a little sore from all this talking. Not to mention my mind is starting to turn to mush. I’ll come back a little later to fill things in once my mind has cleared. So I’ll end on this. The humans here are lunatics. 

End Recording. 

The tranquill let out a cough as he clicked off the voice recorder, placing it with the rest of the collective stash of knickknacks that have accumulated over the past several days. It was quite the collection gained in no small part from the efforts that Li had put into it. Be it blankets, silverware, batteries, a radio, even some human gaming system with two screens and a few games that she had taken an affinity towards to boot. Tranque shook his head, wondering if the mon had been born a murkrow in some past life before poking his beak into the food pile, pulling a piece of apple and swallowing it whole. A satisfied grunt left him as the fluids filled his parched throat. 

He perked as he heard the scratching of claws on concrete, glancing to see a linoone scampering up the railing with a plastic bag in her jaws. He nodded his head as she spat the bag out, causing the bag of goodies to spill out on to the floor. 

“Welcome back Li. I see that you managed to get some more stuff for your collection.” He said, poking his beak through the contents before passing a brief nuzzle to her, which she returned before stepping back. A glint rose to her eyes. 

“Good to see you too Tray. The store owners were a little difficult, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Got a good haul here with a few… Interesting things.” Tranque raised an eye at this comment. 

“Define interesting.” She shrugged, digging through the pile of stuff that she brought. 

“Well I finally found out why they know so much about us despite us Pokemon not having existed here up until a few weeks ago.” 

“Oh? Do tell, what would-” He froze as Li pulled out one of those game carts she had been collecting. On the cover was an unmistakable image of Reshiram, starring them directly at them with a snarl. He blinked, staring in incomprehension long enough for Li to pop open a soda she had brought along. She popped the beverage open, guzzling the drink before letting a contented sigh. She looked back at him in amusement. 

“Why the long face Tray? Meowth got your tongue?” Tray clicked his beak, his head tightening as he narrowed his eyes. 

“Considering the fact that this thing exist, I would say yes. I’ve got questions. Lots of them. Yet I doubt I will find the answers to this any time soon. Such as why they have a legendary on the front of one of these game boxes.” Li shrugged. 

“Don’t know why that is myself Tray, but I wouldn’t raise much of a fuss about it. We’ll find out sooner or later.” 

“Easier for you to say.” He muttered, feeling his left wing ache as he starred on for a bit before stepping back as a headache started to form. Before his mind could wander any further, Li patted him on the back with a paw. 

“So how did that talk work out for you?” 

“Okay. It got my mind cleared of things. At least until you brought that thing here.” He said, pointing his beak towards the offending item. Li shook her head. 

“Just let it go for the moment Tray. Like I said, we’ll find out in due time.” 

“Probably. But forgive me if I suffer some existential angst in the meantime. The implications here do not assure me. Not to mention that my wing still hurts from dealing with that damned rat.” He flinched as Li went in to embrace him. He stirred as he felt a strange mix of comfort and its opposite permeate his being, a tender warmness in his bosom and the clenching of his gizzard filling his being. Li stepped back a bit, offering a reassuring smile. 

“Hey, what did I say about fretting about that sort of thing? I don’t blame you for it at all. Just gotta wait till that wing of yours heals. I don’t mind carrying on for the both of us for a little while longer. Just gotta be patient.” She said, patting him on the head before moving to fish out a bag of chips. 

“Again, easy for you to say. You’re not the one with a sprained wing to deal with and no berries to help heal up.” Li ripped open the bag with her teeth, fishing out a chip and munching down on it before offering one to him. 

“Want one?” She said while chewing. Tray shook his head.

“I’m good.” Li shrugged, popping another chip into her waiting muzzle. 

“Suit yourself.” She said, pulling up a magazine and scampering to her corner of the room and began to read. Seeing as the conversation had ended, his gaze returned to the game box in question. Hopping on over, he pulled the box over to him and examined the image before flipping it over to reveal unreadable flavor text and images. His eyes narrowed, seeing the unmistakable visage of the three elemental starter Pokemon that were typically given to trainers starting out on their journey in his neck of the woods. 

“Where did you find this?” Li sighed, dropping the magazine and giving him a look. 

“I filched it from some bargain bin. Where do you think I got it from?” Tray couldn’t help but stare in disbelief at her nonchalance. 

“Are you not at least a little concerned about the implications of this thing?” Li threw her paws up into the air with an annoyed grunt.

“For goodness sakes Tray, just get over it. Like I said, we’ll find out sooner or later.” She raised a paw before he could respond. “Even if we did know the whats and whys of this game’s existence, what would that change for us? Don’t get me wrong, I am more than a little curious as to how this world has media of us despite our nonexistence here up until a few weeks ago. But it won’t do us any good to fret  
over what we can’t change. Besides, we will figure it all out sooner or later, probably the former all things considered. In the meantime, there’s no need to rush these things over or have an anxiety attack over it. Just move with the flow and take things one step at a time till we get there. Though if it helps, word from the other mons is that we are fictional entertainment for the human children here.” Tray’s brained stopped for a moment. 

“What.” Li rolled her eyes. 

“Fictional entertainment Tray. For children no less. 

“I heard you just fine Li. I am just having trouble processing this statement, and that this knowledge isn’t affecting you much. At all.” Li sighed, closing up the magazine and stepping over to him. 

“Tray, listen. It’s just the way I think. We’ll find all of this out eventually. But it won’t do you any good to fret over it all. Just be thankful we’re not one of the poor souls that had their heads fried upon coming here.” He shivered. There were plenty of corpses he saw that attested to that statement. Both by the hands of other and himself. His clicked his beak, a nervous tic he had developed ever since coming to this Arceus forsaken world. At least some of the other legends were present, for whatever that was worth. But even still, why were they put here in the first place? Why were some mons going berserk upon their arrival and not others? What was the meaning of all this? Why was it-

He eased upon feeling a familiar paw resting on his shoulder. He turned, seeing Li sitting there with understanding in her eyes. 

“Don’t go all mellow on me Tray. I’m here for you. If you want to get all this off your chest, just say it. Won’t do to let it eat you up inside. Might as well get it all over with.” He hesitated for a moment before nodding. He moved so Li had some space to sit next to him on the blankets. She took this invitation, settling in on the blankets he was on before waiting for his response. Nothing was said for the first few moments, taking the time to gather his thoughts. He heard the click of the voice recorder, turning to see Li had pulled it out with it at the ready. He chuckled. If she wanted to play therapist, he would oblige her. For some reason he felt a tenderness in his heart warm upon seeing Li’s kind gaze. He shook his head, taking a breath before releasing it a few seconds later.

“You know how I’m a bird of routine Li. I don’t like it when sudden changes are thrusted on to me without warning. I was just fine sitting out in my territory and finding a nice mate to settle down, having a few sets or hatchings before finally passing onto Arceus’s embrace. I was just minding my own business when I find myself waking up in unfamiliar territory. Shortly after of which I was mobbed by those damned ferals, almost getting killed in the process. At least up until you came in and took care of them.” He gave a hallow chuckle. “Can’t say the past few weeks have been easy for me Li, especially the last one. Being cooped up in here isn’t doing my mind any favors. Not being able to fly. Not being able to help you while I am stuck in here. Not having anything to do but think. About why the hell we are here. Why we were the ones brought here and not others. Why… Why it’s… I just...” He stiffened as Li took him in with a gentle hug. The warmness he felt earlier had returned with a vengeance. Part of him was disturbed about how much this action had delighted him. Why did he feel this way? About a mon he had only known for a few weeks at most? It made no sense. Yet his heart was racing all the same as he took in the piercing blue eyes of the mon before him. The snug smile Li wore, her ability to understand and work with his concerns? The feeling he felt, what was it? Surely it wasn’t what he was thinking of, could it? Too early for it. Yet his damned instincts were telling him otherwise. 

“Get a damn grip Tray. Just your body playing tricks on you. Don’t let it control you. Focus.” His heart lurched as Li gave him a nuzzle before turning back on to him with a smile. 

“Listen, I don’t mind going out there alone Tray. Nor do I mind taking care of you. Quite the opposite in fact. It makes me feel fulfilled. It’s a nice thing to have you around Tray. You’re someone I can talk to who won’t get bored of my meanderings. Something I can’t say the same of with my siblings or other mons back in Hoenn. You’ve been a good friend. Without you, I’d have a harder time trying to make it out here. Not to mention you’ve been a friendly face to talk to while exploring this place. I like your company.”

“I… I appreciate the sentiment Li. But still-” 

“About that. You gotta loosen up Tray. Those thoughts are eating you up real badly inside. It doesn’t do a mon good to let such things fester. I’ve noticed it ever since you sprained your wing during that fight with the raticate. It’s why I got you to talk into this gadget here, hoping it help air out your concerns. Figured it might help with your thoughts.” Tray couldn’t help but a bitter chuckle. 

“It did. Yet here I am whining about the unfairness of it all, while you just stand there and take it. What kind of mon does that to one who is willing to help them?”

“One who is just stressed Tray. That’s all.” He nodded, before giving a nuzzle in return. A chur escaped his beak before he could stop it. He froze for a moment before Li laughed. 

“Why aren’t you being affectionate today.” If his face wasn’t covered by his feathers, he’d be pretty sure it be red right now. 

“Hey, ain’t no shame in showing affection Tray.” She said, backing away. A pang permeated in his chest, an emptiness taking hold. He stuffed it into the back of his mind, and nodded. 

“In any case, I hope this talk helped.”

“It did. Makes it less overwhelming in any case. Certainly helps to have you around.” 

“Aww, that’s so sweet Tray-” He cringed at her singsong voice as she spun around and picked up the magazine. Her gaze returned in a more earnest smile. “But I am glad to be of service. Especially if it’s for a friend. Now then, why don’t we take a little of that time off to cool our heads with a little reading shall we?” Tray raised an eye, his head lulling to the side at such a dubious statement.

“We don’t even know to read their script Li. The best we can do is look at them for the pictures. Unless...” He trailed off as he caught the smirk affixing itself to her face. 

“Unless what?” He paused for a moment, considering his thoughts on the matter before shaking his head.

“Question for you Li, when did you learn how to read?” A mischievous smile formed on Li’s muzzle. 

“What makes you think I know how to read?” She said, giving him a flutter of her eyes for good measure. His own rolled in theirs sockets as he groaned in exasperation. 

“That look and tone doesn’t leave in the alternatives to consider. Now will you please answer the question?” The linoone pouted.

“You’re no fun. Alright, since a week ago.” Tray stared. He opened his beak, but no words came out. He blinked.

“… A week?” She nodded, pulling the bag towards her and pulling out some books. Narrowing her eyes, she sorted through and pulled one up. The book in particular showed the human alphabet, while those that laid beside her he could only guess were related to it and reading. If he actually knew how to interpret the damn script, which he didn’t, he would know. Yet here stood Li, literate where she was not a week before. The headache from before returned with a vengeance. 

“Okay Li. I can accept that you are somehow literate. But managing to become so in just a week? I just can’t accept that Li. I just can’t. So please, tell me what you did in order to accomplish this feat? What deal with Giratina did you made to make this possible?” The linoone shifted uneasily, wrapping a paw around her arm before looking back at him. 

“Well uh, I kinda did so to speak.” An eye twitched. For a moment he said nothing. Just as he opened his beak, Li raised her paws. 

“Before you say anything Tray, it isn’t what you think it is. I’ve just been seeing a psychic whose been tutoring me in return for me doing some tasks for him.” The growing sense of ill in his gut churned ever greater as irritation seeped into Tray’s voice.

“Oh? Then please tell me Li. Because I didn’t know a damn thing about this until you just straight up decided that now would be a good time to tell me. Why pray tell did you think it was a good idea to leave me in the dark about this?” He almost yelled, his feathers puffing up as he stomped around the room.

“Because I didn’t want to worry you! I just figured I do a few errands for this guy and get some supplies for us on top of it. Nothing wrong with that right? Not to mention he said he was forming some group of mons of sorts for us Pokemon to survive in this new place of ours.” 

“So you basically indebted us to an Arceus damned psychic, terrific. What the hell were you thinking Li? What part of this seemed like a good idea? The food stuff I can understand, but getting into debt with a psychic is never a good idea. Not to mention who knows what he did with your head. Did he help you by fucking around with your head so you could read?” Li’s eyes widened, pulling back further on her haunches as a hint of panic creeped into her voice.

“Tray stop! It isn’t like what you think it is! I-”

“Gods damn it. What am I suppose to think about this Li? That I should be okay with you going behind my back about this? You thought not telling me would make me worry less than when I learned about it like this? I can understand and comprehend the benefits of joining a larger group, even if it is lead by a psychic.” He said, pulling his wings out in a flourish as he spat the word out. 

“Tray… I-” The flier turned about face and doubled down on Li, causing her to shrink back as he towered over her. 

“What I don’t understand is why you didn’t see fit to tell me. What kind of benefit is there to not informing me about this? Honestly Li, what is the benefit? Tell me!” The linoone’s jaw had dropped, her voice trembling as comprehension seemed to dawn on her on the scope of her folly. 

“I just didn’t want you to worry about it all Tray. I figured I scout this guy out, get a few things in return for a few of my services, then tell you about it later if I thought this guy was worth joining. He seems pretty alright during my sessions with him.” Tranque just stared in utter disbelief at his friend before shaking his head as his anger died down, frustration and exasperation taking its place. 

“For Arceus sakes Li. Why? Just why?” The bird turned to the side, taking a deep breath before releasing it in a controlled manner as he returned his gaze back on to her. 

“Did it ever occur to you that this psychic might have implanted the suggestion into your head over a period of time? Did it ever occur to you that you could have been manipulated into joining him to help do the dirty work for his group? Even if he was benevolent, even if he did give you some supplies and lessons-” He paused, gesturing to the bag she had brought in. “-he is still ultimately using you. And by extension you are dragging me into it.” The linoone’s eyes narrowed. 

“What other choice do we have Tray? You already know that the humans around here are trigger happy as it is what with all the chaos coming down on this world, nevermind the mad Pokemon portaling through in growing numbers as the day passes. So even if we held up here, what’s to say the humans won’t turn on us later even if it all dies down? I’ve heard them talking Tray. About trying to protect their native creatures and plants from us Pokemon. That we are a threat to them to be eliminated. Even if we don’t do a damn thing to them or their native animals here and leave them alone to subsist on absolute garbage or them not actively going on a killing sphere, there’d still be humans who’d try to kill us regardless. Or hell, even just our fellow Pokemon for that matter, which you know about from personal experience no less. By learning to read, we could learn to better make ourselves an important part of their society. So that they couldn’t simply just go out and wipe us out. That they have more to gain from us coexisting than if they didn’t otherwise.” Tranque blinked in disbelief. This linoone was nothing like the cheerful optimist he met all those days ago. Where did this even come from? Before he could even speak, the linoone pressed her advantage as she strode up to him. The tranquil found himself backing into a nearby beam until his tailfeathers were almost scraping it. 

“Honestly Tray, I know I am not the brightest electrode in the shed, but even I can see we stand to benefit a lot more by working ourselves into a larger group than if we stood alone. Or not even that, just associate with them as allies! One of the reason I didn’t tell you besides not wanting to stress you out was because I wanted to get us into a good position and rapport with them so we don’t end up staring on the bottom rung of the pecking order. If I failed, I wouldn’t need to disappoint you and get at least something out of this mess. We might not suffer if we join later, but who knows what the humans here will try and do to us because of their fear? You think we could stand against those humans Tray? Alone or few at a time we could deal with them. But these humans have many things we don’t. The most important is that unlike us, they’ll unite against us out of common fear and mutual interest if they think that’s the case. You think we could do the same Tray? Not on the level that they can.” Tray blinked, his shock further amplified at this unseen side of his friend. She was always so cheerful and ever the optimist, if sometimes ignorant of the potential problems ahead. He thought he was supposed to be the smart (Or rather cynical.) one in this partnership. 

“Apparently not. What else have I missed in all of this while I moped in this building? What has she seen that I haven’t?” Li at this time had stopped to catch her breath, giving him a moment to interject.

“Li…” He paused, considering his next words. “How is this relevant? I already know the humans are a bunch of basket cases and that we aren’t exactly in a good position. But surely we can just head off away from the humans if it comes down to it.” Li gave him a flat stare before scampering back to the bag, rummaging through it until she pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. She came back pulled it open, almost thrusting it into his face. It took a few seconds until Tranque realized it was one of those human maps he sometime saw on the crossroads that dotted the trails nearby his territory. Though instead of showing locations and physical features, it showed what he guess was a big landmass sandwiched between two big bodies of water, assuming the blue sections were any indication. It didn’t take a genius to see that this was probably the region they were in. Though upon closer inspection, it seemed to be divided into many smaller regions. Odd. Such a large amount of them clumped together, he wondered how it all even managed to work. Then up or down showed others that seemed quite clearly divided from the one in the center. He looked on for a moment before looking back at Li with a questioning look.

“Okay, so I get that this is a map showing one of the regions amongst the many human nations we are in. What’s your point?” She shook her head before pointing to what seemed to be the biggest one of the bunch that he could see in the central section of the map at the bottom of it.

“Wrong Tray. Do you see this big region right here?” He nodded, not sure where she was going with this.

“I do. And what of it? I presume it’s safe to assume that is the region we are in, but what’s so important about it?” She shook her head with a sigh.

“You’re missing the forest for the trees. Check the map again. Does any of it seem odd to you? Why there are so many regions clustered together while the ones at the top and bottom are seemingly separate?” He blinked, scanning the map more closely. It did seem odd that there were so many regions clustered together in one big landmass. He couldn’t imagine how so many human nations could live together like that without squabbling like they sometimes were to do from what legends and stories he heard from other mons. Yet still, for some reason the map made clear it was its own thing compared to its neighbors, almost as if… 

Something clicked as a chilling realization began to set in on him. He looked up and down the map one more time, checking to make sure he was seeing it right. 

“No… It couldn’t be. I don’t really know the scale, but surely it isn’t like that. Humans don’t do this sort of thing. They fight too much among each other for that to happen.”

“You’re in a new world. Anything is possible. Perhaps you should ask for the scale. Li probably didn’t get this on her own, and the psychic must have...” He turned to Li, suppressing a tremor as she waited for him to answer. 

“These regions that are clustered all together. You can’t possibly mean what I think you are implying. It’s lunacy, even for the humans.” The linoone sighed, dropping her arms to the side before flatting the map on to the floor. She again pointed to the region that they were in.

“Do you know the size of the region we are in alone Tray? No? Well I am telling you anyway. The region we are in called Texas? It’s bigger than Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Unova combined.” You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed as Tray processed the information he just heard. 

He blinked. He blinked again. Then he blinked once more, slowly shaking his head. 

“No. That can’t be right. “ He muttered as incredulity filled his voice. “You gotta be off somewhere with that. Don’t tell me that psychic is the one that told you that. He could have said anything to scare ya with it. There’s no way for a region to be that big. It’s… It’s insane! And you mean to imply that all these regions that are clustered together are somehow a part of one bigger region?” He looked into Li’s eyes, scanning for any sign she was playing a cruel, practical joke. But her eyes remained stiff as shook her head. 

“We’re missing two other states that are not located on this map. Compared to the size of the rest of this country, Texas is only a small fraction of the size. Albeit an important one.” Tranque could not help but feel his beak drop as he processed this other earth shattering revelation. To be in control of that much territory? Assuming the psychic wasn’t bullshiting them with the math, that would mean the humans here control large swaths of territory. Worse, that would mean they would have larger numbers to boot. True, the humans couldn’t possibly cover every square inch of it all. But the fact that they controlled it had certain unpleasant implications. Particularly if the humans thought they were a threat to their interests. Considering what he had seen so far…

Tray’s hopes for the end of these revelations were dashed as she began to roll up the map.

“They aren’t like the Rockets, Plasma, Aqua or Magma loonies from back home Tray. I’ve been doing a little digging on them while you were here. ” Tray blinked, looking at his companion in shock. His reaction communicated the unspoken his unspoken question. 

“What do you mean? Do you mean to imply they are somehow worse than they are?” She shrugged. 

“If you mean by kidnapping Pokemon and abusing them for their own ends or trying to end the world with the legendaries, then no. If you mean that they have become extremely good at killing each other, and by extension us? More so. Doesn’t help that they managed to create their own world ending weaponry by the thousands. No, I didn’t hear it from just the psychic. I’ve verified it by my own investigations and getting it from the grapevine.” By this point Tranque thought he would have become numb to the revelations, but he found he still flinched at that nugget of info. 

“Dare I ask how?” 

“Basically having the power to explode cities with the power of tens of thousands electrodes clumped together and detonating at the same time. Oh, and leaving a parting gift in the form of some sickness called radiation that kills if you stay in the area it exploded in. Apparently they even use this radiation to power their cities.” 

“Of course they do.” He muttered. But then again what could one expect from an entire species of lunatics. These humans were the ones like back at home. Only with less random groups of maniacs plotting for world domination or some other mad thing, and instead substitutes it for more decidedly mundane things. Like killing for territory or resources or some other petty squabble. They wouldn’t have so many damn weapons otherwise if that were the case. He was starting to see the possible benefits of joining. But still, joining up with a psychic gave him bad vibes. There is no trusting those mind readers. You never know if they were going to stab you in the back or not, while they knew your every thought with you unable to do a damn thing about it. 

A feeling of exhaustion set in despite not having done much of a thing at all in the past several days. His thoughts were muddled. What the hell was he to do faced with all of this information that had slammed into his face? He jerked as he felt Li’s paw on his back. He looked up to see her offering a reassuring smile. 

“Look Tray. I know this is all a lot to take in. This world isn’t like our own in a lot of ways. But in others we might as well have not left at all for all the difference it makes, both for good and bad. I think we can make it here Tray, even thrive if we play our cards right. The humans aren’t all bad here despite what you think. I know you saw that humans don’t simply shoot us on sight if we aren’t attacking them. Hell, more than a few decided to even help us without want for stuffing us into those little phones of theirs. We can work with this, I know it in my heart Tray. There’s a community here where we can hook up with and forge a new future for ourselves. One just as good or better than the one we could possibly have back at home. We even have some of the legendaries to keep the humans in check if they decide to get all uppity with us. So as long as we keep our heads above the water, we should do alright. We just need to take the plunge in order to secure that future. Most of all, I want you there by my side when that happens Tray. I can’t think of any mon, not even the legendaries themselves that I would want on my side moving forward. You’ve been good to me Tray, and I want us to have a future together.” She said, placing her arms around him. Tray flushed at the physical contact, picking up on the implications. Her eyes conveyed a warmth that was not one of simple friendship. More akin to close friends. Maybe… No, that couldn’t possibly it. That sort of thing simply doesn’t happen. 

“Or maybe it does.” A chill ran down his spine as he ripped from Li’s embrace, his wings flared as his eyes darted around the room.

“Whose there!? Show yourself!” The voice, a feminine one, uttered a laugh that caused him to shudder. He paled as he felt something fade through him, causing the bird to swipe at the spot in front with lit wings. 

“Oh c’mon, don’t be such a kill joy.” Li looked up, realization coming forth to her face. 

“Aria! What are you doing here?” The bird’s blood froze as a shade materialized up from the floor. The ghost hovered around Li with a flourish before settling down in front of her. Li gave him a sheepish grin as his eyes turned to hers. 

“Friend of yours?” He hissed? She nodded.

“Tray, meet Aria. Aria, meet Tray.” She said, giving a wave of her paw to each of them. The ghost nodded, giving a bow.

“Greetings. I am Aria, emissary of the Waterway Sanctuary. As our name suggests, we are a bunch of mons held up near one of the human’s artificial lakes. More specifically, close to one of their centers of commerce called a mall.” Tray’s eyes lit up in irritation. 

“I know what a damn mall is ghost. What I want to know is what in Arceus’s name are you doing here?” The ghost rolled her eyes. 

“Such an uncourteous host Li. You should work on having your bird friend here practice better manners.”

“Excuse me!?” He squawked with indignation. This ghost was already starting to piss him off. He had half a mind to take a swing at her while she was still materialized. The ghost simply shook her head. 

“Just an observation. But to answer your question, I came to appraise your readiness to join our little group. Yes, the one with the damned mind reader as you so eloquently put it. And before you ask, no I did not read your mind. I just eavesdropped on you instead.”

“So you decided to violate our privacy instead. That’s soooo much better.” He growled. 

“Make of it what you wish. But all I am here for is to curtsy with you in regards to establishing a more formal relationship with my group, if not outright joining it. The offer is still open by the way, despite your poor attitude.” Li sighed, shaking her head as Tray’s nerves frayed. He was just about to swat the ghost before Li put a paw on his shoulder. 

“I’ll handle this.” She turned back to the ghost. “Why come here in person? You don’t do that unless someone has something you really want.” The ghost managed to shrug, despite her lack of arms.

“Maxwell found your abilities in gathering resources and learning to be quite proficient. Not the best he has seen, but better than average. You seemed to pick up quick on the concepts he was teaching you despite the relatively short period of time you two had together, even accounting for the psychic assistance he lent to you. He did have to you tapped out for a reason after your unexpected meeting with him.” The linoone blushed, giving a way of her paw. 

“Oh it wasn’t that special. I’m sure any old mon could do what I did if given the chance. Tray could probably do better in that area than I could anyway.” Aria raised an eye, giving him a quick glance before turning back to Li. 

“Perhaps. In any case, your skills could prove quite invaluable to our cause, provided you actually join us. You have a chance at starting quite high in our hierarchy if you were to join soon.” 

“I could-” She shrugged. “But even if you placed me all the way at the top, I’m not gonna unless Tray comes with. Where he goes, I come.” Tray felt his heart leap at the statement. Despite the short amount of time together, they had become remarkably attached at the hip. It almost would have been alarming to his past self of ten weeks ago. But now? It was difficult to imagine a life without her. Maybe even…

“You know with all the signals you’ve both been sending, it’s a wonder why you two haven’t simply decide to become an item and just do it.” Tray’s thoughts came to a screeching halt, gawking at the ghost’s statement. He willed his beak to move, yet he found no word worthy of reply. Li was doing no better, her eyes having widened to saucers as she began to sputtered.

“Wh-what? Us? As mates? This early? We’ve haven’t even know each other for a month!” The shuppet shrugged. 

“I like to think I have a good eye for things like this. And right now I see the two of you have it for each other bad. Your bird friend more so. You don’t need a mind reader to make that connection, what with all the overt displays of affection you’ve two been sharing with each other.” Li’s mouth opened. Then closed. She blinked, glancing at Tray before shaking her head. 

“I- I like Tray as a close friend. But we couldn’t have form such a bond so quickly. That just doesn’t happen!” Aria gave her a flat stare.

“Not always. But it does happen from time to time, assuming such a couple have a chemistry close as can be to being perfect. You two are one in a million. Considering how either of you seem to sometimes fawn over each other on extended absences while remaining just about in good health physically and mentally, anyone with an eye for this stuff can spot it a mile away. You might as well be shouting it to the world for all anyone cares.” 

“Bullshit. We haven’t been that overt with our affections. I mean, what we have is normal, right?” Yet Tray couldn’t help but think how his heart sometimes flutters at Li’s kind words. More so than any other who talks to him in a good light. There is just something earnest about her demeanor that conveys a genuine fondness for him. There was something about her that he couldn’t imagine being without. The way how affection she is that caused him to melt in her embrace. The way her fur meshed with his wings. The way she actually gave a damn about him. How his heart soared as she laughed. How it plunged when she was in danger. The way he enjoyed preening her after a rough day’s work. To actually give his life some meaning beyond mere survival? But that couldn’t be it, could it? Love takes effort to foster. To keep up. Surely it was a mere flight of fancy born of circumstance.

“Oh for the love of Darkrai you thick skulled, bird brain. Of course love doesn’t happen like that.” He blinked, paling as she saw the shocked expression of Li looking at him.

“Tray… You really meant all that?” The tranquill took a step back as he realized his folly. He didn’t say it all out loud. Did he? His eyes shifted to the ghost.

“You! What did you do? Did you loosen my tongue? Played a few tricks on my mine? Of cour-” He squawked as the ghost bore down him, his beak locking in place as Aria glared at him. 

“I tire of your baseless accusations when I have done nothing of the sort. It is true my kind commit such acts, as such within their nature, as do I when I find it appropriate. But we are not a monolith, nor would I ever think to do what you accuse me of unless I had good reason to do so. I would advise you clamp your beak shut, lest I show you what I am truly capable of in all accounts. I merely wish to help you despite my own reservations on the matter. The only reason I am here is so we can recruit your furry friend over there. One who has great potential to boot if given the the proper time to nourish it. But that will never happen with you dragging her down. Considering that she will forfeit this opportunity of hers which has been handed in a silver platter, all for the sake of you, I would highly advise you consider joining. If not for your sake, then hers.” Tray could only nod as the ghost pulled back, the pressure on his beak released. Li for her part had rushed over, making sure he was okay before glaring at the ghost. 

“Aria. I appreciate the offer. I really do. But if you do that to my friend again, I’ll make sure I toss your ectoplasma out into the dumps where the dark types can find you. Understand?” Aria’s eyes rolled, nodding. 

“Crystal m’lady.” She stopped, rising up to the ceiling before casting them one more look.

“I must cut my time here short, for I have other potential Pokemon I must court. Think on my words carefully, especially you Tranque.” She said, using his name for the first time since they met. “You have a fantastic opportunity to ascend into a life beyond mere subsistence in the wilds. You will have safety, security, and the freedom to do much more than if you were to be left to the whims of either the wilds or the humans. Consider this offer carefully. Such opportunities come rarely in one’s lifetime, and you may not have long to consider with the uncertain future yet to come. Until we meet again, farewell.” With that the ghost disappeared into the rooftops, leaving the two occupants in silence. 

Neither moved a muscle as the seconds passed until Li looked up at him. 

“Did you really mean it? About what you said?” Tray tried to avert his eyes, to look at anywhere but her. Yet he remained transfixed by her deep blues looking into him. He fished for something. Anything, that would stop all this. He stood silent, yet his heart spoke loud and clear.  
“Take it. While you have the chance.” He paused for a moment. Then with great trepidation, he nodded.

“Yes.”

Li stood there for a long while. Or at least it seemed that way. His sense of time was shot for the moment. Then Li smiled. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him into a tight hug, causing his heart to pound. With warmness worth that of a fire type, his eyes were fixed to hers before she moved in and kissed him on the beak. 

Words. Words are clumsy things. Useful, but they fail to describe certain things. Certain emotions. Certain thoughts. They are limiting in a way, closing off lines of sheer experience in a manner that encapsulates all of it. It can only hint at what was to come. Tray did not swoon and fall flat to the floor. Nor did he feel the passion of his heart aflame. Neither did he partake in embroiling himself in a lover’s embrace, dancing tongue to tongue with her own. Nothing so dramatic. Nay, such was the realm of lunacy. 

What he felt instead was much more… Intimate. Earnest in its appraisal. A small spark for the inferno to come. A rationing of resources, setting the tone for the grand journey to come. The prelude to long lasting fortune, along with all the ups and downs that accompany it. It was a small start. A flutter of his heart. A realization of a connection truly solidified in its whole. The beginning of a process of bonding that would last to their dying days. 

An ember of warmth. A tender carcass. Of simple pleasures of timeless length without word nor distraction. An essence pure of embellishments. Free from frivolous distractions. Something that could last. 

Clumsy though it may be, it was the closet Tray could come to describing this moment. He knew not how much time had passed as they sat together, content to enjoy each others company. It was quite simply magical in a way. Romantic. He knew not if what he felt was the truth or his hormones leading him astray. Perhaps the ghost must have done something to facilitate this moment. The right choice of words, a subtle suggestion here or there. For what effort, he knew so. But at that moment, he simply did not care. 

“I-” He stopped as a paw fell to his beak. Li shook her head before nuzzling him.

“Shh. Just enjoy it. No need for words.” He nodded, smiling for what felt like the first time in a long while before he moved to return her embrace. 

By the time either of them thought to speak a word, night had fallen. Tray stirred as he felt Li shake him from their warm slumber. He looked upon her with rested eyes. 

“Tray?”

“Yeah?” 

“Do you think we could really be a thing?” He thought for a moment. Then nodded. What else was there to say? It just is. There were no superfluous thoughts distracting him. Nothing so inane. What he knew was pure.  
“I… I want to try. To see where it goes. I feel something Li. I would even go far to say it’s love. But I want to take this slow. To make sure this isn’t a flight of fancy. Today was nice, barring the other things that happened. I know I enjoyed this moment. Beyond that, I know little else but a future that will be hard. I am not sure this could even work. I never heard of a couple going outside their species.” Li took his wing in her paw, rubbing it with gentle conviction.

“Then we’ll make it work. Hell or high water.” He nodded.

“I think I will take up that offer. To join the Water Sanctuary.” Li blinked.

“Are you sure? I know you aren’t comfortable-” She stopped at his raised wing. It fell to his side as he sighed. 

“I am willing to try to make it work. If I truly love you, then I must do my best to assure we both have the best shot at life possible. If it means I must parley with a psychic, so be it. I still feel fear Li. About what such a being can do for us. I don’t think I will ever lose those reservations. But as long as we’re careful, we should be okay. Just… Make sure to tell me about this stuff next time.” She nodded, smiling as she gave him another nuzzle. 

“I will Tray. I will.” 

“That’s all I can ask for.” He said. With that the two snuggled up to one another and passed into dream. Tomorrow would be the beginning of a new era in their lives. Today, the start of passion that would last forevermore. 

A story that has only just begun to unfold. 

***---***

Theirs is but one story of many. One story out of many millions and human and Pokemon alike embark upon a new era. Where worlds merge, conflicts rage, harmony forged. 

This is a time of uncertainty and upheaval. Where old orders are smashed to be made anew. Of long lasting status quo altered as the two distinct entities meet in a covenant created in the sweat, blood, and toil of the old and new realms. 

For more than three million years, Humanity remained alone. For three million years, Humanity toiled on its lonesome. For three million years, civilizations rose and fell. For three million years, Humanity knew no other as its equal. Such was forever shattered on the fateful moment when Man met Mon in a conflagration that would forever alter both in time eternal. Where the old crumbles, with what remains is reforged into a Compact stronger than its component parts. 

A time of great change is upon the Earth. Where Man and Mon shall never be the same. 

To be one in such times is to be one of untold number. It is to live in a time of change, the breaking of the status quo. This story is but one tale of such times. From the forging of bonds anew, to the shattering of the old. When all is said and done, nothing will ever be the same.


	3. Luck of the Eeveelutions

The rumble of an engine echoed through the street corner as an espeon hid in a low ditch with her kits. Luna winced as the strange machine let out another ear piercing roar with its strange tube like device, light lancing through the air to shred some unseen victims. More noise added to the cacophony as the strangely dressed humans let loose with their own tubes from behind various pieces of cover, bounding over each other as they stopped every so often to let their fellows catch up. Boots stomped by them as Luna clutched her kits tight, one of them whimpered, burying his head into her chest. 

“Mommy I’m scared. When will the loud noises stop? Are those humans going to hurt us?” Luna winced as a piece of shrapnel pinged off the barrier that she had set up. She gave him a reassuring nuzzle. 

“I don’t know little one, but it doesn’t seem we’re the focus of their attention. As long as we stay inside this pipe, we should be okay until things clear up for us to leave.” Kindle’s expression softened, if not entirely mollified. 

“When will dad be back?” 

“When he finds us a safe way out of here little one. Be patient, for he will soon return to us.” Her ears twitched as the pounding of paws drew near them. A few seconds later an Umbreon came over the drainage ditch and slid up to their shelter, a plastic bag dangling from his jaw. The kits inside the den perked up. 

“Daddy you’re back!” Kindle said. The umbreon dropped the bag and smirked. 

“Yup, I have returned like I promised. I even brought some food for us all.” His gaze shifted to Luna.

“Nothing troubled you I hope.” Luna smiled, dropping the barrier as Streak slid inside with bag in toe before popping it back up. 

“No dear. Nothing has accosted us thus far. Same for you I hope?” The bag dropped, spilling the contents to the floor. Sandwiches, energy bars and sweets wrapped up in plastic laid strewn around it. Streak smirked as more than one squeak from the kits was heard. 

“Eh, just a few stray Pokemon and a few humans taking potshots at me while I scavenged their dwellings. One of them even threw a rock at me as I bolted from where they were keeping a lot of their foodstuff.” 

“Streak...” Luna frowned.

“Hey, it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Long as I stuck to the shadows they couldn’t see me. Aside from a couple close calls, I got in and out just fine. They were mostly focused on other things from what I saw.” Luna shook her head.

“Of all the mates I could have chosen, it had to be the most reckless one out there.” Streak huffed as he nuzzled her. 

“I prefer bold thank you very much. And besides, we wouldn’t be mates if I was anything otherwise.” 

Luna chuckled as her mate began tearing at the bags. 

“True. But one day your luck is going to run out Streak. It won’t hold forever.” 

“I don’t need luck. I am skilled enough as it is Lu. I don’t make dumb decisions, just calculated ones that just happen to be risky.” He said through his muffled teeth. He pulled out one of the small sandwiches and handed it to her. 

“Here, something to help regain your strength.” Luna nodded, levitating the sandwich in front of her and began to nibble at it. Streak took out the other food items that laid within the bag. A sandwich, a plastic box packed with hard crackers, carrot and apple slices, and some cucumber. Finally, a small cup with some swirly stuff in it. The box was ripped open by one of the kits, who took a carrot and began to munch on it. 

“Sno orin bwery, but it tastes good.” 

“Mmmhmm.” Another called Illusion agreed. Luna gave them a frown. 

“No talking while you are eating little ones. Eat first.” Most of the kits rolled their eyes before resuming.

“Yes mom.” 

Streak took on a small bar and settled beside his mate, giving her another nuzzle. 

“So, what’s it like out there Streak? Are there any places where we can make a run for it?”

“Yeah dad! What’s it like? Did you fight any of them? Did they shoot you?” Streak shook his head. 

“Quiet down kits, I did not fight any of them. Just hid in their shadow where they weren’t looking.” He turned back to his mate.

“As for us getting out of here Lu, I’m afraid not. They’ve got the entire place locked down tight. Anything that so much even twitches is shot. Or at least the Pokemon that are either panicking or attacking them. They seem to ignore you if you don’t make any sudden moves to spook them. Still though...” He shifted his gaze to the drainage ditch.

“I rather not chance the entire family moving until things calm down. The humans are very alert at the moment, what with all the chaos going on. Not to mention the fact there are still a lot of rampaging Pokemon that would pose a threat to us even if we discounted the humans in the area. The woods closest to us are probably crawling with Arceus knows what. Frankly until I can get a good look at them, we stay put for the time being.” The umbreon released a pent up sigh, the tension in his body easing up. The kits stopped their eating, sensing a subtle shift in the air. 

“These humans are definitely not the like the ones back home, that much is for certain Lu. Wherever we were dropped off at, these humans have no need for Pokemon to be at their side.” Luna blinked, her sandwich almost falling to the ground.

“What? No Pokemon? I didn’t see any when we hid ourselves in the den, but surely they had to have some trained Pokemon with them to help out.” Streak shook his head once more. 

“They did not. Not even one rattata. Though that being said they were hardly some helpless mareep to the slaughter. Their machines are more than deadly enough to see to that. One moment a Pokemon is standing there one, then after a quick bang they just slump over just like that.” He fixed Luna with his a stare. 

“Whoever these humans are Lu, they don’t need Pokemon to protect themselves. There are more than enough dead bodies of Pokemon out there to prove that much.” Luna shuddered, her fur paling a little. 

“Well then… So we stay here for a little longer then. I don’t like it Streak. This place is too crowded for us to protect the kits here. If one of them manages to find this place-” Luna took in a deep breath as a tingle went down her spine. 

“We still don’t know how we even got here, let alone know where we are at the moment. It certainly isn’t Ecruteak Forest. Only by Ho-Oh’s will are we even still together, thank the Phoenix.” Streak gave a curt nod before turning his gaze to the impromptu den and the area around them. As far as dens went, they could certainly do worse. They had been fortunate with their den being far from the current fighting that afflicted the human settlement, with it being under a bridge that led into the local town. The buildings dotted the area in clusters that overlooked a lake nearby, surrounding it all were a surprising number of trees, with plenty of foliage to go around

“At least it’s similar to Ecruteak City in that respect.” Streak muttered. 

As far as human settlements went, he had seen worse. It wasn’t as cozy or quaint as his old home, nor did it have that old rustic charm to it. But it was certainly leagues better than the concrete jungle of other human cities. Honestly if things calmed down enough, he could see himself living with his family here for an extended period of time. Humans were reliable food sources if nothing else, provided you charmed them in the right way and avoided the trainers that lurked at certain hours of the day. Besides, the view looked like it would have been nice to see if it weren't for the place currently being a battle zone. 

“Nice place all things considered.” He thought as he poked his head out from the shield. “Although I can certainly do without those strange humans and the mess that this place is in at the moment.” A lot he could do without indeed as he surveyed the land. He grimaced as he got a good look at the area around him. 

To say that the place had been trashed would be an understatement. While the town was not utterly leveled by the conflict that took place within its borders, the various skirmishes between the humans and whatever unfortunate Pokemon that they had run into marred what natural beauty that it might have had before it was visited by the current calamity. Rubble littered the streets from damaged buildings, occasionally dotted by corpses from humans, Pokemon, and strangely enough actual animals that weren’t either that were of the very feral, stupid types. Certainly a surprise to see them. 

Regardless the amount of dead Pokemon outnumbered that of the dead humans laying around, more than Streak was comfortable with. Clearly whoever these humans are they were not to be trifled with unless one had a death wish. He shook his head as he ducked back into the pipe. A glance revealed that the food that he brought them had been completely devoured, save for the cup with the swirly stuff in it. His ears perked as a growl from one of the kits was heard. The kit in question shrunk into herself, ears flat as she looked down in embarrassment.

“Sorry. Still hungry.” The kit’s brother next to her nuzzled her.

“Hey it’s no problem sis. I’ll share this thing with you.” He tried to ripped the top off of the thing, pushing it over to his sister.”

“Thanks Storm.” Streak allowed himself a small smile, his heart warming. He gave Luna a glance, who returned an apprehensive gaze. 

“Perhaps I should go out there and fetch some more food. Things aren’t too bad around our area. I could go scavenge something-” Luna frowned, her gem lighting up as her mood shifted. 

“No you will not. I rather not leave our kits without a father Streak. You already took a risk by going out there. We don’t want to lose you over mere hunger. We can and will wait a little longer.” She said in a tone that brooked no argument. Storm’s ears perked, jumping up as he looked at his parents with a glean in his eyes. 

“But mom, Tulip’s hungry. What if I go out with dad to-” The words died on his lips, an icy glare freezing them in place.

“None of you are to so much as step foot outside this den until both your father and I say so. That means you especially Storm.” Storm whimpered, nodding.

“Yes mom.” Streak suppressed another chuckle that threatened to boil to the surface as he patted his son on the back.

“Much as I like your courage Storm, I am in agreement with your mother. Simply a bit too much for you to handle.” Storm pouted, giving him his best puppy eyes that he could offer.

“But I wanna go and see what those strange humans are up to and the town.” He whined. 

“I know you do kid, but your mother won’t let me live it down if something were to happen to you.” He could feel his mate’s gaze burning a hole on the back of his head. Storm held for a few moments before nodding, moping back to his siblings.

“Okay.” 

“But-” Streak said, causing the eevee’s ears to shoot back up. “When all this dies down I promise that you will come out on an excursion with me, along with your brothers and sisters. In the meantime, I want you to look after your siblings while I go out the-” Streak stumbled as a psychic slap hit the back of his head. He grimaced as he looked to Luna who stomped until they were both muzzle to muzzle. Her eyes pierced into his as Streak felt a pressure pushing against his head from the restrained psychic energy coursing around his mate. 

“When I said no Streak, I meant no. You are brave Streak, but not invincible. All it takes for one thing to go wrong and you’ll end up as nothing but a corpse. This isn’t like the wilds where there is plenty of cover for you to hide from just a few hunters. I don’t want you going out there for at least another few hours until things settle down. Unless we are in immediate danger, We. Stay. Here.” She punctuated the last few words stabbing a paw at his chest. 

For a moment, neither backed down from each other. Finally Streak responded, slumping back on his hind legs.

“Okay Lu. If it makes you feel better I’ll stay here. We’ll stay unless we need to otherwise. Still, I need to fetch us some more food at some point. There is a place nearby that I can scavenge that has food in-” 

“Again Streak, we can wait.” Streak sighed, raising his paws in defeat. 

“Alright, you win dear. Staying put as you desire.” The pressure he felt before relented, Luna easing back as the glow on her gem dimmed. 

“Good.” A glance to the rest of the kits saw the swirly cup had been utterly depleted, with the culprits having their muzzles made a mess of it all. Tulip sighed, patting her belly.

“That was like having every berry ever mixed together.” Illusion, Kindle and Storm nodded.

“Yup. I’d like more of this human stuff if we can find it.” Storm said licking his lips. 

“If we do find some more, you can have it. For now, I suggest you all rest for a bit.” Luna said. 

“But mom, it’s so boring in here. What else can we do in here?” 

“We can talk as we always do when it rains.” Tulip spoke, her voice only just heard above the din of noise above them. Storm’s eyelids raised a bit, turning to his sister huff. 

“… Okay fine. Sis, what do you think is out there?” 

“Dunno. Maybe there are some big gyradose that will eat the humans up.” Streak tuned them out as he turned to Luna. 

“Might as well make yourselves comfy. I’ll stand watch for anything that tries to sneak up on us.” She nodded, though Streak could not help but notice a slight tremor course through her body. His went up to her and gave Luna a nuzzle. He bristled, feeling the tension from her neck relaxing a slight bit. He pulled back, frowning.

“Can you keep the barrier up Lu?” She nodded, returning a reassuring smile. 

“Don’t worry about me too much Streak. Feeling a bit of strain, but nothing I can’t handle. I can keep this up for a few hours more if needed. If not, I can drop the barrier if needed and still have power to fend off anything that tries to get into the den.” Though she tried to hide it, Streak saw a slight tremor course through one of her legs. His eyes narrowed. 

“Lu, I know that using your powers likes that can cause psychic types no small amount of stress to them, especially for prolonged periods of time. Perhaps you should drop the barrier for a bit while I keep watch.” Luna shook her head.

“Sorry Streak, but I rather not chance it. Don’t worry about me, I know my limits.” Streak sighed, eyes closing with a vexed sigh.

“At least weaken the barriers a bit Luna. We’re not in any immediate danger yet. That way you can have the strength to raise them back up if something tries to get us and still have the strength to fight. I don’t want you to exhaust yourself. If nothing else, it will help keep the noise out there from deafening us.” For a moment, Luna said nothing. Streak stared at her, pleading to her with a wordless gaze before she nodded a few seconds later. The barrier to the den thin ever so slightly.

“Okay Streak, you win. I’ll keep the barrier strong enough so as to block the noise out there. Hehe. Sometimes you do know how to use that brain of yours.” 

“When it comes to what matters dear, of course I do. Now get some rest for a bit. It’s going to be a while.” With that, the den fell into a sort of silence between them, save for the kits who talked amongst themselves while Streak and Luna stayed ever watchful of the den’s entryway. Minutes passed as the battle around them waxed and waned, sometimes stretching out into small lulls in the fighting before the quiet was shattered with renewed fervor. For whatever reason, many of the humans were settled near them on the roadway, the fighting continuing deeper elsewhere in the settlement if the noise way any indication. Looking at the sun, he estimated a little over two hours had passed since Noon.

“How much longer will we have to stay here? The kits are getting restless.” He shook his head, taking in a deep breath for a moment before releasing it. He just had to be patient. This all had to blow over sooner or later. It had to if they were ever going to get out of here. Out of the corner of his eye his mate walked up next to him. Both shared a brief nuzzle before staring back out of the pipe, their ears twitching as they digested the information heard around them.

“Those humans sure do know how to make a loud racket if nothing else. Even with the barrier I can still hear the thump from their weapons coursing through the ground. It’s a wonder that they don’t go completely deaf from it all. My ears are still ringing a bit from just going out there.” He muttered. 

“Mmm. Well at least the barrier is blocking the worst of it.” Streak’s ears twitched as he heard his mate’s breath hitch. He turned to her in concern.

“Do you need to take a break? We can afford to drop the barrier a bit-” Luna shook her head.

“It’s fine Streak. Just not used to keeping the barrier up for so long. It’s certainly an exercise in managing my energy reserves and psychic powers if nothing else.” Streak couldn’t help but notice the slight tremble in her voice. With that, Streak made up his mind. 

“Luna, take a break. The fighting seems to have died down near us. I can go out and fetch something for us while you rest-” 

“No.” Streak was silenced as Luna composed herself before giving him a lick. 

“I can keep it up for another couple hours Streak. I am in no danger of collapsing yet.” The way she grunted said otherwise. Streak shook his head, taking his mate between his paws. 

“And they say I am the stubborn one.” Streak sat down, glancing at the kits who were now napping.  
“Lu, look at me. I don’t want you to hurt yourself by keeping this up. Drop the barrier. I’ll go out there and get us some food to eat. I won’t be gone for longer than five minutes. You have my word. Just take it easy and rest for a little bit. You’re no good to us dead tired if something comes to get us. Please, just listen to me at rest for a little. I am utterly certain nothing out there is going to find the den while I am out.” 

“Be that as it may Streak, I am not taking the chanc-” To his horror, Luna began to wobble. Then her legs fell out from under her. 

“Luna!” 

Wasting no time Streak fell by his mate’s side. Just at that moment the barrier died a pop, causing to kits to bolt up as noise flooded into the den. Tulip was the first to wake, looking to see the commotion. Her eyes drew wide with horror as they fell upon her mother. 

“Mom!” Before Streak could do anything, she and the others were already crowding around them.   
Streak nuzzled his mate, which elicited a groan. His heart twisted as Tulip burrowed up against her mother’s neck, her face twisted mess of matted fur and tears. She looked up at him with bleary eyes.

“Daddy, is mommy going to be alright?” Just then Luna stirred, her eyes sliding half open back up as she forced herself back up, giving her kits a small smile. 

“It’s alright little ones. Just pushed a little too hard keeping the barrier up. I’ll be okay with a little rest. Though it seems we’re going to have to do without the barrier in the meantime.” She said with a weak chuckle. Streak shook his head, appalled that his mate’s behavior. 

“You’re going to be the death of me Lu.” He gave a frustrated sigh, eyes darting around the room for anything that could be of use, only to find nothing. 

“Right, we ate it all. Just great. Arceus dammit!” He gave a frustrated sigh before moving to the pipe’s entrance. 

“Rest for a bit Lu. Kids, stay put. I am going to go scavenging something for both you and your mother to eat. Keep watch over her until I get back. I won’t be long. Don’t leave unless you absolutely have to, okay?” They nodded. 

“Good. I won’t be long.” Just as he was about to bounce, he felt a weak tug pull at his leg. Streak looked back to see the glow on Luna’s gem fade as she forced herself up with a grimace.

“Streak-” She hissed as she stumbled towards him. “Don’t be stupid. I don’t need you being a tarous headed oaf just because-” 

“No.” Luna blinked in shock as Streak marched up next to her. He fixed her with a hard stare. 

“I’m going out there to get us something to eat, especially for you Luna. As long as I don’t make any overly stupid move against any humans or Pokemon out there, I’ll be fine. The fighting has died down enough for me to go out there and get something unmolested. I just need you to hold up here until I get back.” Before Luna could say anything, he shook his head.

“No Lu. Rest. I’ll be back in a bit.” Luna stared back at him for a moment before nodding, laying back on the ground. 

“Be careful Streak.” 

“I will.” He gave Luna a nuzzled, which she returned. He then turned to his kits.

“Keep your mother safe until I return. It won’t take too long-” A loud crack filled the air. Streak’s ears fell back as a chill ran up his spine. His body twisted back in a near blur to see what made the noise. His heart froze upon his eyes making contact with the source.

“Oh Arceus no.” 

Standing a few feet away were two human soldiers, their weapons pointed in their general direction. Streak paled. They must have been drawn by the noise the barrier made when it popped. Of all the times for it to fail, it had to be now. One of the humans tilted their head to get a better view of the den before looking to his partner. 

“So that’s where the sound came from. Don’t know what I expected.” The other human only moved to get a better angle in response.

“No shit Matt. Just another pack of strays by the looks of it. God knows how many others are out there.”

Streak took position between the den and the humans. A growl escaped his lips, causing the humans to raise their thundersticks at him. 

“Get back from my family or I will tear your throats out.” He said, baring his fangs. One of the humans lowered his weapon, raising the other up palms forward.

“Hey easy there, we’re not gonna to hurt you.” He made to take a step towards them, only to stop as Streak snarled. 

“I said get back!” He barked. He cursed the inability of these humans to understand Pokemon. Didn’t he already make it clear he does not want them around? Out of the corner of his eye he saw the other human’s finger tense on the trigger of his weapon. 

“Keep your fucking rifle up Matt. That thing ain’t friendly.” 

“Yeah, but look behind him.” He said, pointing behind Streak. The human tilted his head a little, then nodded. 

“Yeah I see it, which is exactly why we should get the hell out of here and back to our squad. We aren’t on a mercy mission and Sarge wants us back ASAP.” The human which Streak had figured to be Matt shook his head.

“Locke, I think we can spare a bit to help em out.” Streak didn’t see it, but he definitely heard “Locke” give a quiet sigh of exasperation.

“Those aren’t our orders. In case you didn’t notice, we’re trying to stop these things from tearing up the town. If they aren’t doing anything, fine. But we got our orders.” 

Streak suppressed the urge to shake his head. He didn’t know what these humans wanted other than one of them wanting to help. Like hell he was gonna let them get close enough to lay one grubby finger on his family. 

Yet… What could he do? He was quick, but he was no jolteon. The humans would gun him down before he could make it even a quarter way to them. If Luna had not exhausted herself, he could have used a barrier to make the distance and tear their throats out. As it stood he had little in terms of options. A shadow ball would take too long to form, at least one that would be lethal to the humans in question. His shadow streak technique might work, yet that was a move he was still perfecting with no guarantee of working. Assuming it even worked, it would leave his family exposed. Even if he had managed to somehow kill them, he had no doubt the noise of their weapons would draw the attention of the other humans, dooming both him and his family. Streak spared a quick glance to his back. His kits huddled around their mother, some clutching tightly to her fur while others like Storm glared back at the humans in utter defiance. Luna meanwhile had managed to get up, with a thin barrier of pink set between them. Though judging by the way her gem flickered, she was straining to hold it. 

While the humans were arguing, Streak focused his thoughts his mate. A smooth, warm presence fell over him as the mental connection between them solidified. 

“How’re you holding up Lu?”

“Just barely Streak. I think I can hold the barrier for a couple minutes at least. Maybe block one or two of their bullets. But I can’t manage anything more than that.” She winced as one of her paws almost fell out from under her, but managed to right herself in time. Streak’s stomach churned.

“Can you run?” Luna shook her head. 

“I can barely hold myself up Streak. Even slight movements makes me want to wretch. I… I think you’ll have to leave me behind.”

Streak’s stomach twisted into a knot as a growing sense of horror took hold of him. 

“Absolutely not! I won’t leave you to die Luna. We’ve been together for too long to let that happen! I’ll.. I’ll think of something.” Streak felt a sad nod come across the connection as he wracked his brain for a solution. It couldn’t end like this. They didn’t survive together in the wild only for one of them to die out in this alien land. He would not allow it to happen. But what could he do? He had to do something. Anything, if it meant the survival of his family. Even if it meant his death, we would gladly pay the blood price if it meant the rest of his family’s survival. Streak glanced back, only to freeze as he noticed the barrier had fallen during their conversation. His stomach churned in a panic. 

“Luna what are you doing!?” Without warning, a cool calm washed over him as his mate took hold of him in a mental embrace. The panic he felt before dimmed, if only by a little bit. 

“Calm yourself Streak. I don’t detect any malevolent intentions from either of them. They’re tense yes, but I don’t think they will shoot us if we don’t do anything to antagonize them.”Streak would have looked back in disbelief if it wasn’t for the humans in front of him. Instead he bit his tongue.

“Do you know for certain?” Luna shook her head.

“I can’t get a good read of them at the moment, but what I can feel from ambiance around them suggests they’re not going to fill us full of holes.” 

“Well that is a relief, but they are still not leaving us alon-, wait a moment.” Out of the corner of his eye, the human from before made a step towards them. He hissed at them, only this time the human did not back down. Instead he let the thunderstick hang slack from his strap, raising both hands to head level. The other grunted as he kept his weapon steady. Just what on Earth were they planning.

“Just make this quick Matt. Just know if that thing so much as even twitches, I am putting a bullet right between its eyes. Jesus, Sarge is gonna kill us if he finds out about this.” Locke muttered. Matt gave him a thumbs up as he came down on a knee.

“Got it. Just keep a watch out.” The human turned toward him, fishing something out of his pocket. He tensed, only to narrow his eyes as the object came into view. 

“Do they actually intend to bribe me with a bar?” He scoffed. He trusted Luna, but he still had to be wary for whatever these humans tried to pull. For all he knew, this could be a trick to lower his guard. Seeing that the umbreon was still tense, the human took hold of his rifle. Then much to his shock, he dropped it on the ground behind him. His other hand fell into his pocket and fetched another bar, this time strawberry if the packaging was any indication.

“Hey there. I’m just gonna toss these bars at you okay? I think your mate needs it. If you understand nod your head up and down three times.”

Streak paused for a moment, glancing back to Luna. 

“Go ahead Streak. Might as well.” He sighed. 

“To hell with it. If they try anything, I can always rip them apart.” With that, he gave them three firm nod. It was only a slight movement, but he saw the slight in Locke’s aim as his eyes widened in disbelief.

“Holy hell, they actually do understand us. Jesus Christ.” Streak could not help but roll his eyes. Of course he could understand them. What kind of backwater did these humans come from? Even the most isolated of humans knew they understood them. In short order, Matt tore open the two bars and tossed them at his paws. Streak bowed his head down, never taking his eyes off the two humans. He gave each of them a thorough sniff before nodding. Good. They didn’t smell of the usual human poisons, and he doubted they had the time to concoct one so readily on the spot. Otherwise they would have just shot him and be done with it. He gave a quick glance back to the den.

“Tulip, Storm. Fetch these bars and give them to your mother.” 

“Yes dad.” They muttered. In quick order the bars were snatched from the ground and inside the den at the paws of their mother. She gave each of them a quick lick and nodded. 

“Tulip, Storm, my thanks. Now why don’t you split one of the bars and give it to the rest of your-”

“Eat the damn bars Luna.” Streak could feel the hole being seared into the back of his head. Good. That meant his mate was still alive. He could deal with the consequences of this later. Matt took hold of his rifle and rose back up. 

“That’s the last of my bars. Hope you and your mate enjoy them Umbreon.” He gave a curt nod, which Streak returned in kind. 

“Perhaps these humans aren’t so bad after all. At least we’re not dead. That’s a plus.” By this point Matt had rejoined his partner. 

“About time. We need to get back to our squad and report our findings. I-” His eyes widened as a loud buzz was heard. Without warning, he pushed Matt to the ground, falling down to the ground with them. Right at the moment they hit the ground, a yellow streak blurred passed where they were standing just a second before. Streak gaped as the human rolled with his thunderstick pointed and fired. The umbreon recoiled as the sheer noise hit him, stumbling back as he heard a distinct thump hit the ground. Streak shook his head as his ears rang, then saw the accomplice that tried to skewer the human. A beedrill laid still as it bled from the new holes it gained for its efforts to impale the human on its stinger. 

“Luna, get the kits back in the den now!” 

“On it!” With little delay, Luna herded the kits back into the den. If nothing else, it would force the buggers to come in one at a time. Streak swore as he looked around him. Where there was one, five more were close behind. The humans got back up, weapons raised as they scanned the area. As this happened a shroud surrounded Streak, muffling noises from the outside world. Streak gave Luna a quick nod before directing his gaze back to the treeline. 

“Fuck me that was close.” Another series of buzzes were heard from the treeline. Locke swore as he raised his thunderstick to meet the threat.

“More of the bastards, light em up!” The weapon let out a rippling roar, sending bolts streaking down into the treeline in tight, disciplined volleys. A few of the beedrill crumpled to the ground as the were shredded by Locke’s accurate fire, causing the rest to scatter to avoid the same fate. One of them spat a poisoned projectile from its mandibles at Matt, who side stepped the barb and sent a burst into it for its troubles. Several more of beedrill attempted to charge them, only to slam into the ground as they were shredded by the metal projectiles that tore through their bodies. Despite the ferocity displayed by the humans, the numbers were beginning to tell as the humans were forced back against the pipe. Matt hissed as his weapon clicked. A slab of metal dropped from it as he began to reach into one of his sleeves.

“Locke I’m reloading!” The fire from Locke intensified, forcing the drones back as Matt slipped his hand into his pouch to fetch a replacement when one of the beedrill made a mad dash for him. Locke shifted his fire, only to stop as he was forced to dodge as some of the beedrill began spitting more barbs at him. 

“Matt look out!” The human looked up, eyes wide as the beedrill quickly closed the distance between them, its stinger poised as it came closer and closer to him. Time slowed for Streak as he began to move. Everything came into sharp focus as his instincts guided him. He could see the individual rounds fired from the rifle pierce the air as the traveled through it. He paid this no mind as dark energy pulsed throughout his body, his legs beginning to blur as he saw the human hurl himself to the side.   
The beedrill missed with only inches to spare. The buzzing from its wings intensified as it turned back to make another pass with its red tipped blades. 

Darkness engulfed Streak as everything around him came to a standstill. For a moment the world stilled as his breath slowed. His mind focused on the life energies around him. Zeroing on his target, his rings lit up in intensity as everything but the immediate environment around him dulled while the beedrill came into sharper focus. His heart pounded in his ears as he began to move with the shadows.

His prey came closer, closer, and closer to the human as he synergized with the darkness within him. All distractions were cast out of his mind as his target came into range. From this distance he could make out the finer details of his query. Sunlight glistened off the blades as they inched their way to Matt, while the wings on this feral drone flapped in such that he could see each muscle in it pulse with a steady tempo. Raw power the likes of which few would ever know pooled until the required amount came to course throughout his body. It might not be what he had in mind, but for his purposes it would have to do.

For a moment, all was quiet. 

Without warning, Streak slammed into the beedrill right as it was about to sever Matt in half, plunging into the ground as the kinetic energy of his body transferred over into it. Streak heard the human swear in surprise as he backed away. Dazed from such an unexpected attack, the beedrill did not offer any resistance until Streak sank his fangs into its neck. The body jerked for a few seconds as it struggled to get him off. Streak pulled. A geyser of blood spewed from ripped wound, coating him as the beedrill rolled around for a few seconds before slumping to the ground. Streak had landed on the ground when a mental pulse rolled across his mind. Without looking, he leapt into the air just in time for another of the bugs to zip past him, close enough that he could see the hair lining around its wings. As it turned to face him, the remaining energies around Streak coalesced into a tight sphere in front of his maw. Still in the air, Streak released his bind on the dark energy he was holding. A ball of darkness was slung towards the beedrill in an instant. Before it could react, the ball engulfed the beedrill whole in darkness.

Half a second later, the ball exploded. Streak pulse a quick probe to see if his foe was eliminated. He glowered as weakened life sign beamed back at him as his paws hit the ground. Streak dashed as the beedrill battered but unbeaten form righted itself as he closed upon it. His maw opened as he lunged, only to bite down on air as the oversized bug pulled to the right. Streak swore, ducking to avoid a swipe of its blades as he was put on the defensive. He made a quick phase shift to the left to avoid a poison spike, his legs carrying him onward as he shot the bug a glare. Darkness clouded around him as the beedrill stumbled back, mind scrambled as the effects of confuse ray took hold. Streak charged. It was a weak version of the technique to be sure, but it gave him the time he needed as he slammed into his prey just the moment it recovered. Before he could bite down on its neck, he was beaten to the punch as its mandible bit down on his hide. Streak muffled a scream as his body instinctively spewed a toxic sprayed from his pores. The bug let out a screech as it was blinded, with only the weak shroud protecting him from the noise. Fighting through the pain, Streak managed to sink his fangs into its neck, ripping out its throat. The umbreon kicked back as the beedrill wobbled backwards. Just as Streak thought the bug would collapse, it shot a silky string at him. So close to the bug, Streak only began to move when he was coated in the sticky substance. He hissed, having to force his paw up to rip it off the ground. Streak looked to see that the beedrill collapsed, twitching as both the poison and blood loss took its toll. Streak paid little mind as he tried to move, his movements feeling stiff as the webbing stuck him to the ground.

“Stupid fool, never let your guard down around a feral!” Streak grimaced as parts of his blood soak fur ripped off from his legs as he forced himself to move. Painful, but the only quick way to shed the webbing out here. Blood dripped from his wound when a psychic scream tore into his mind.

“Streak look out!” 

His eyes widened as he saw that two of the drones had managed to zip by the murderous fire from the other human, orienting themselves in his direction. His legs pulled as Streak made to maneuver himself to avoid their stingers, though his legs still stuck to the grass around him. Desperate, Streak summoned what little remain of his dark energy to avoid their attacks as they closed in on him. He aimed his muzzle in their direction, then let out a loud screech. The oscillating waves from the noise of caused them to careened off course. Precious seconds bought, Streak began to tear through his bonds. Just he managed to rid himself of the first webbing, another webbing hit him dead on. Streak hit the ground as the beedrill closed in on him. His heart pumped as he felt his mate watch on in horror. Streak look to see that he was absolutely covered with the stuff, his legs stuck together in such a way that made it hard to move. He looked up, seeing the beedrill diving in on him. Everything slowed as they came closer and closer to him. His eyes fell shut as a strange serenity came over him.

“I’m sorry Luna. Guess I was too cocky. Take care of the kids for me will you?” Though he didn’t see it, he could feel the stranglehold of despair take his mate. He pulsed back a calmness, hoping to comfort his mate in what little time he had left. 

“Streak wait! No!” Streak felt the barrier around him strengthen, his mate using force of will to put every ounce of power she had into the shield. It wouldn’t be enough. A glancing blow maybe, but not enough for the follow up shot. The beedrill were almost upon him. 

“Take care Luna.” The beedrill closed, their stingers poised. Streak waited. Out of the corner of his ear, Streak heard a distinctive click. The beedrill came closer. Two muffled bangs were heard. On each the beerill dropped out of the sky. Seconds later they slammed into the ground close to him. Muffled footsteps came up to Streak as he look up to see the human had since loaded a new slab into his weapon. Two bits of metal added to the pile that were already close to him. The human gave him a quick nod before adding his own fire to the fray. Seconds passed as more corpses added to the area around them. Streak smiled as the rest of the hunter swarm buzzed back into the treeline, leaving behind the fallen of their number. His ears perked up as he strained to hear if any more were coming. After a few moments of hearing nothing but ambiance of the battle occurring elsewhere throughout the town, Streak relaxed a bit. 

“Arceus, that was tense. But thrilling nonetheless.” Streak felt another pulse from his mate.

“Streak hang on, I’m going over to help you.” Though she tried to hide it, Streak could feel the bleed over of her stress coursing through her. He shook his head as Matt came down with a knife and began to cut the webbing away from him, while Locke kept a careful watch. 

“Hey there little guy. Just gonna get you free from that stuff covering you.” Streak simply nodded, uncaring to his hostility to the human before as he pulsed back to his mate.

“Don’t worry Lu. Think we got things under control over here.” Though he didn’t see it, he could feel her glare boring down on him.

“Streak you damned fool… When we’re done with this we are going to have words with each other.”

“Love you too darling. Now, do you sense any more of them?” The stress in her aura died down as a sort of numb relief and exasperation took hold of his mate. A few moments passed before she shook her head.

“No. I do not detect any more in the immediate vicinity. I’m sorry I didn’t catch them before Streak. My mind was too weary for me to sense them until it was too late.” 

“Don’t be Lu. You couldn’t be expected to do so in your state. Are the kits alright?”

“Shaken but unharmed. The noise from their weapons certainly rattled them.”

‘Tell me about it. My ears are still ringing from the noise. Have to wonder what these humans face to need them. But I am glad to see none of them made it through. Thanks for the warning.”

“Of course dear. You certainly made a show of yourself out there as per usual. Though I see you still need to work on your shadow ball technique.” She chuckled, to which Streak could only roll his eyes in response.

“You try forming a shadow ball when in the middle of such a battle. I managed to do well despite the circumstances, did I not?” 

“But of course Streak.” By then most of the webbing around him had been cut, allowing Streak his normal freedom of movement. The human backed off as Streak got back on his paws, stretching his legs. He winced as he felt the wound in his shoulder pulse. Matt looked down for a moment before he dug something out from one of his pouches, taking out a string of white cloth and a stripe of tape. 

“Hold still for a moment, gonna patch you up.” Streak grunted as the human began to apply first aid to him. 

“Don’t even think about trying anything human.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Locke’s eyes narrow at them.

“For fuck sakes Matt, we’re not supposed to waste our gear on these animals. You almost got skewered by those oversized hornets.”

“I know. But it won’t hurt to help em out. I think they could be of some use to us.” One of Locke’s eyes twitched. 

“Are you saying you want to capture them?” Streak tensed at that, only for Matt to shake his head as he wrapped the white cloth around the wound several times before applying a sticky tape to him. 

“Maybe. Probably not at the moment. For one we don’t have our phones on at the moment, so even if we wanted to we can’t capture them. Second, they made it clear they don’t want to be captured. Fine by me. Just thinking since they’re here we’re gonna have to figure something out with what to do with them.” Satisfied, he got up and stood back. 

“There, should keep your wound protected until it heals. Just don’t touch it for a few weeks until it needs replacing. Got it?” Streak gave a nod. Not that he would need to bandage for long. Just needed to find the right berries to help him heal up. Locke shook his head, muttering under his breath as he checked his weapon.

“Okay, how’re you holding up on ammo? Got around a quarter of my belt left because those basterds kept zipping around so much.”

“Down to five mags plus the one in my rifle.” Matt shook his head as he brought the knife up to the barrel and fastened it with a distinct click. 

“Next time they try that they’re going to get a belly full of steel.” 

“You do that.” Locke glanced at the area around him. “Jesus, I think we did a number on them. I count twelve of them around here at least. Might be more if the rest succumb to their wounds.” He shook his head before looking at Streak. To his surprise, the human gave him a curt nod. 

“Hey, thanks for saving Matt’s ass back there. If it wasn’t for you, he would be a shishkebbab right now. Wouldn’t have been pretty to report back that he got nailed while on scout patrol.” Streak gave a slow nod, giving back his own smirk as the adrenaline pulsed through his body. 

“Well at least someone here is thankful.” Streak sat down, hoping to catch his breath when a panicked alarm pulsed from his mate. He looked up to see Storm charging him, followed close behind by Tulip and Illusion.

“Storm wait! Get back in the-” Was as far as Tulip got before Storm barreled into him. Storm looked up at him with a look of awe in his eyes, his tail wagging all the while. 

“Dad, dad! That was so awesome! The way you kick their butts, streaking in out of nowhere then bam! You surprise them and make it explode!” Tulip and Illusion came up right beside him, the former with a scowl on her face as she shook her head. Streak eyes glanced towards Luna, who shook her head. 

“Storm, get back in the den! Mom says it’s too dangerous for us out here!” Storm shook his head.

“Nu uh, dad and those humans kicked their asses! They aren’t gonna come back because they’re gonna get hurt!” Streak got up and bore down on the kit with a stare.

“Storm...” He growled in a tone that commanded absolute attention. It was not the voice of a happy go lucky umbreon with a daring streak. It was the voice of a father demanding the most immediate attention that brooked no argument. Storm stopped, turning around to find his father’s eyes staring him red in the face. Whatever excitement the kit had died as it dawned on him that he had made a mistake. 

“I don’t know what you were thinking sprinting out here in the open like this, but I want you inside back the den now.”

“But why? You took care of them all.” Streak lowered his head until he was face to face with his kit. 

“We took care of the ones that we currently know about. There could still be more out here. We don’t know if they are off to hunt easier prey or are just regrouping to go for another attack. Either way you being out here puts you in danger. The same goes for the rest of you.” He said, flicking his head to the rest of the kits. The eevee could only give vigorous nods, too petrified by their father’s sudden tone shift to even speak. Storm in particular looked down with a glumness about him. Streak looked on for a moment before sighing. 

“Damnit. You kits are going to be the death of me one of these days.” He facial features softened, giving a small lick to the eevee below him. 

“Listen. I know you are going stir crazy in that pipe, but until both your mother and I determine it is safe for you to go out, you are to stay put with the rest of your siblings until the troubles have past. When we’re done with this, your mother and I are going to have a talk with the rest of you. Understood?”

“Yes dad.” Storm mumbled. Streak sigh, giving the kit a small nuzzle. 

“Hey, chin up kid. We’ll be out of this soon enough. Just gotta hang in there a little longer.” Storm brightened up, a small ray of hope in his eyes. 

“Okay dad.”

“Good. Now run along back to the den.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Streak eyes widened, turning around to find Luna limping towards them. His chest tightened as she came out of the shade and into the sunlight, revealing her physical state. Her pink coat was a dull, matted mess of dirt and grime, her paws brown with dried mud chipping off in pieces as she stopping in front of them. The kits yipped as they crowded around their mother, who nuzzled them in turn. Tulip looked up at her mother with concerned eyes. 

“Mom, why are you out here?” Luna smiled, giving her kit a small nuzzle as the clouds overhead parted, the sun brightening in intensity as it shined down upon them. 

“Oh, I figured I might as well get some sunshine while still able. Sun’s bright enough now that I can replenish my reserves. Helps to ease the headache I am currently feeling.” (Plot hole. If that were the case, then why didn’t she go out earlier? Maybe cloudy overcast?) Streak bounded up to his mate, his ears flat as he stared his mate right in the eyes. 

“Get back in the den Lu! You need to be in the den where it is safe!” He stressed. Luna responded with a chuckle. 

“Relax a little Streak. My reserves are a bit low right now, but the sun is helping with my recovery real nicely. Before you say anything Streak, no I don’t sense any hostile auras around us. It should be safe for the time being, at least long enough to get some of my energy back.” Streak responded with a flat stare. 

“Really? I just saw you collapse only a few minutes ago.” Luna shrugged. 

“It’s going to take more than mere exhaustion to put me down for the count.” Though Luna did well to hide it from most eyes, he could still see the exhaustion by the slight twitch in her legs. He shook his head as he tried to nudge her back, doing his best not to tip her over. When Luna did not budge, he gave his best pleading look he could muster. 

“Of all the times to be stubborn and you chose this moment to do so. Lu, just wait a while longer for met to at least scout the immediate area just to be sure. I don’t want you getting hurt.” Luna eyes focused on him for a moment before shifting down a bit to his bandage. 

“Looks like you need to be more careful yourself.” Streak resisted the urge to hiss in frustration. 

“Just steady on Streak. You know she gets like this when she exhausts herself. Just take it one step at a time.” His eyes closed as he took in a deep breath and sighed before opening them back up again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw little Tulip pawing at her mother. 

“C’mon mom. We don’t mind staying inside the den. Isn’t that right Storm?” She said, shooting a look at her brother who to his credit had the decency to look sheepish. 

“What sis said.” The rest of the kits nodded in agreement. Streak smiled a little. They could be a pawful to handle sometimes, but they worked together when it counted. Luna shook her head, turning back to Streak. 

“I will in a few minutes children. But I need this opportunity to replenish my reserves while it is still relatively safe. You know that my senses have yet to fail us Streak. Better that I have my reserves refilled and ready to go than to wait for another attack later while we’re vulnerable.” Even as she said this, her gem brightened in intensity as she drew in the solar energies from the sun. Streak took in a deep breath and sighed. He focused on his surroundings, probing for any would be attackers. Yet besides the ambient battles occurring throughout the settlement, none were close to their location. At least as much could be said in the middle of a warzone. 

“Okay Lu. But I want the rest of you back inside the den while I keep watch over your mother. Take the rest of the bars except for one and chow down while we wait. After that we should be able to make a run for it if all goes well. Got it?” The kits nodded, Storm with a glum look on his face.

“Okay.” To Streak’s relief the kits did not argue as they began to move back into the den. Luna’s eyes fell shut, going into a deep trance as her gem brightened to the point where Streak had to look away. He glanced at the soldiers, one of whom had his hand on a black box.

“-yes sir, we made contact. Several beedrill ambushed us while we were checking the disturbance. Managed to drive them off no worse for wear. Took out twelve while the rest of them fled.” Matt said. A voice came out of the black box.

“How’re you holding up? Did you find anything?”

“Just scuffed sarge. Down to six mags with Locke under a little under half a belt. Area seems secure at the moment. We found a family of eevees. Basically foxes. What about you?”

“Foxes eh? Guess I’ll have to see for myself. We just got done dealing with some of the “local” wildlife. A horde of rats, flying magnets, black dogs and a pissed off rhino charged us. Didn’t matter much against the tanks though. Rhino took a couple rounds to put down, but nothing else other than that.

“Amen to that. Any further orders?”

“I want you and Ramirez to sit tight. The lieutenant wants our squad to link up with the barricade further up inside the town square while the rest of the platoon secures a staging area. ETA one minute. We’ll be with you soon. Sergeant Randell out.” The black box went dead, leaving Matt to sigh as he looked back at his squadmate. 

“Looks like our armor is doing good as ever.”

“Thank God.” Locke looked at the two eeveelutions, raising his arm as Luna continued to radiate light from her gem.

“Jesus that thing is bright. Can you turn it down? It’s gonna paint a big target on us for the rest of those buggers.” Streak’s eyes narrowed a little, shaking his head.

“She can’t you-” Just then Matt tapped Locke’s shoulder.

“I think she’s using Morning Sun. It’s a move that allows the user to heal.”

“Figures. How long is it going to take?” Just then the light on Luna’s gem died down. Streak looked to see Luna’s eyes open, the radiance in them returning in full. 

“Annnnnnnd done. I feel much better now.” Streak gave her a nuzzle, which she reciprocated.

“Good to see you back in full Lu.” The espeon glanced at the humans.

“Likewise. But it seems we’re going to have company. Along with whatever a “tank” is supposed to be, know anything about what that is?” Streak shook his head.

“No. But it’s safe to say it’s one of those metal boxes with the pointed trunks that keeps rolling around that I saw while in the town. Didn’t bother sticking around to see what they did. But they do make noises that are somehow louder than the thundersticks the humans are carrying.” Luna frowned. 

“Not even once?”

“I didn’t want to chance getting shot. They seemed to have the same thundersticks the other humans carry though. If I had to guess, the trunk is supposed to shoot whatever those thundersticks have in them, only bigger.” Luna shook her head. 

“If what we’ve seen is anything to go by, I expect it to be worse. Though I would guess it wouldn’t be able to take out a…” Luna’s voice died down as her eyes began to widened. Streak shivered as a gnawing sense of danger hung over his head. 

“Lu? What is it? What do you sense?” Luna did not respond, the psychic’s jaw gaping as her head turned to face down the road. Streak tapped her with a paw, snapping her out of her trance. 

“Luna! What do you sense? Talk to me!” Luna took in a quick, ragged breath. 

“I… Oh gods… Streak it’s… I can’t...” Streak placed a paw on hers.

“Luna. Talk. To. Me.” She shook her head. 

“Don’t you sense it Streak?” She said, her voice almost a hiss. The umbreon cocked his head, his ears twitching as he strained to hear what disturbed her. 

“Sense what? What is-...” Streak stopped as he heard the loud roar of human engines coasting toward them, nearly drowning out the footsteps coming alongside it. Both of the eeveelutions blinked as the humans turned, both with smiles on their faces.

“Well, well, well. Looks like the cavalry has finally arrived!” He said, stepping out of the ditch and onto the road. Matt shot them a look.

“Listen, we have a few metal boxes along with the rest of our squad coming up in support. Don’t run or do anything sudden and you’ll be just fine.” With that said he stepped out the crest of the ditch, waving at whatever was coming down the road. 

“Hey Sarge! Boy are we glad to see you. See you brought the Calvary.” 

“Good to see you boys in one piece.” Said the voice from the black box. Soon another, older looking human jogged up to meet him. Streak blinked as he got a good look at the man. While not looking much older than the two other humans, looked aged somehow. In particular, a thin scar ran down the side of his left cheek, while his posture carried the presence of an experienced leader. Both gave each other a curt nod, while more men streamed around them taking positions. Meanwhile whatever vehicles accompanying them drew to a halt, the engines coming to a purr. 

“Good to see you boys didn’t kick the bucket while out here. So you found what made that noise?” 

“Yes sir. Those two seemed to be the ones responsible.” Locke said, pointing to Streak and his mate. The human glanced the pair of eeveelutions sitting not far from them. Streak tensed as the man sized him up. A distinct sense of discomfort ran over him, his jaw tightening as his gaze ran over the both of them like he would a rattata. His gut churned as his gaze shifted over to their impromptu den, his eye widening in horror to see the kits bunched up at the entrance. Most of the kits drew back on reflex as the hardened gaze of the human looked over them, with Storm baring his fangs in a growl. The human eyed them for a moment before smirking, turning back to the humans before him.

“So you found a whole den of the little bastards. Thought there’d be something more.”

“No sir. The noise came from one of them popping a shield of sorts. I’m guessing the pink one tried to keep the barrier up before it was too much for it. So it popped.” The sergeant nodded, looking around the area.

“I see.” He said, kicking one of the more intact corpses laying about.

“Looks you got into quite the scuffle considering you patched the black one up. You do know those supplies are strictly to be used on human personal right Private Conners?” The man paled, only the sergeant to laugh.

“Relax. I won’t tell if you won’t.” Matt hesitated a little before nodding.

“Sir.” The smile on the man hanged for a moment before hardening. 

“On to more serious matters, we are to link up with the barricade setup near the town square where most many of the town’s civilians are holding up in. We have reports of impromptu militias made up of store owners and whatever other civilians holding firearms barricaded all across the town, plus local law enforcement. Our job is to link up with the square and hold it while the rest of our platoon combs through our section of the town to evacuate any stragglers to a safe zone till the area is cleared.”

“Any idea of what else we should expect heading into the town?” The man shook his head.

“Aside from what we have already encountered, no. But we are getting reports from other units in the area that they have run into trouble with some of the more powerful ones that have spawned in such as that a few of the rhino things we encountered earlier. The brads were able to take them down before they could do much damage, aside from a few cars that it bulldozed out of the way.

“Sounds like you ran into a few rhyhorns.” Streak blinked. He turned to see Luna looking just as flabbergasted.

“Did he just say rhyhorns?”

“Apparently.” The espeon shivered.

“That means to imply they somehow took them out.” Meanwhile the man continued on.

“Rhyhorns? What an apt name, considering one of them tried to drill through one of the Brads. Or that’s what it looked like they were trying to do before the brads took em down.” Though he didn’t see it, he could feel a cold chill pass through him from Luna. Though she spoke no words, the very feelings drifting over to him was deafening.

“But they’re not the only ones we’ve been having trouble with. Some of the men in the other units were incapacitated by a powdery substance some of those oversized bugs were secreting. Effects vary, but its either poisoning, paralyzing, or knocking them out cold if they breath it in. It’s slowing our move into the town, but as long as you hit them quickly they aren’t that much of a threat otherwise.” 

“At least they’re not completely immune.” Streak thought to himself.

Both Matt and Locke stiffened, their grips tightening on their weapons. Before any of them could say anything, the man raised his hand. 

“I just got those reports on radio. So far the effects are surprisingly mild all things considered, though anyone caught breathing it is definitely going to knock them out. As it is we didn’t bring any of our NBC equipment with us, so orders are to shoot the bugs on sight if you see em.” Locke shook his head. 

“Fucking Christ. Out of all the times not to bring those suits with us, it had to be this one.”

“Easy Locke, it could be-”

“Don’t jinx it. Just don’t Matt.” The human paused, then nodded. 

“Right, sorry. Thanks for the save.” Locke grunted.

“Any word if we’re getting any other support?” The man shook his head.

“Currently preoccupied with other objectives. Our choppers are currently busy supporting other sections of our unit. Even then they’re having problems with the fliers that keep buzzing them. LT says we’ll get them at some point, but the airspace around here needs to be secured first before we get any reliable air support. Not that we are in any urgent need of it.” He said, pointing down the road. Right on cue just as the noise became a deafening wail, it stopped. Soon after the taps of human boots were heard as they gathered up around whatever it was that arrived. 

“Hot damn, an Abrams? What kind of trouble are we expecting?”

“Just the usual. It is part of the support we’re getting.”

It was at this point Streak felt it. Just above the bend he could feel the presence of solid steel. A domineering aura of red pulsated through the very air around him. He was no psychic, but even he could feel the presence of blood coating whatever it was that just arrived. He turned to see his mate shudder, her eyes wide as she took a step back. Streak blinked in alarm as she slumped against him. Before he could do anything, she forced herself back up.

“Lu, talk to me!” For a moment she did not respond. an iron will placed itself in her psyche. Her eyes closed as her mind reformed on itself before opening up once again. Her presence solidified, she turned to Streak.

“I’ll be fine Streak. It just that this presence… It’s overwhelming. It demands attention. I...-” She shook her head. This did not go unnoticed as the human sergeant turned to glace at them, causing Streak to tense.

“Seems the noise has them spooked.” Luna turned and glared at the human, who just raised an eyebrow in response.

“If only you could sense what I am feeling human.” She growled. Matt moved down the ditch and crouched a couple feet away from them.

“Hey, easy now. It’s just those metal boxes I told you about. Why don’t you come up and see em for yourself? I promise they won’t harm you.” 

“Unless of course they mean to do us harm.” Locke muttered. Matt gave his partner a look before turning to the sergeant. 

“They can understand you?” 

“Of course we can you ignorant human! It’s a shame that you can’t do the same for us!” Streak barked. The human looked at him for a moment before shaking his head. 

“I’ll take that bark of yours as a yes.” He looked back to the two of them.

“Just don’t do anything stupid. My men are on a shoot first, ask later mood at the moment. Got it?” Luna got up to all fours and looked at the humans, then nodded.

“Crystal.” The man looked on for a moment before continuing.

“Mmmhmm. My men will be keeping an eye on you. Get to it.” With that, the man turned back to the two soldiers and continued his conversation with them. Streak looked at his mate with concern.

“Lu?”

“I’m fine Streak. Let’s just see what is giving off this aura. It isn’t hostile to us, but…” She shook her head before bounding up the ridge. Streak shook his head, following close behind her. 

“Is it possible for you to establish a link with them Lu?” She stopped, frowning as she looked back at him.

“I could try Streak. But it is something that would take some time, and considering the mood at the moment and their lack of knowledge on Pokemon, it would just as likely end up with us dead if we gave them the wrong impression. If we can find a quiet some for us to do with with a willing human, maybe. This isn’t something you can do on a whim. Now come on.” With that, she bounded over the ridge. Streak shook his head before following suit. 

“Okay Lu, but just-…” He eyes widened as he saw it stood before him. 

A massive behemoth shrouded in metal stood before an intersection leading into the town. Though idle, its engine continue to purr as soldiers moved around it with a watchful eyes. Their eyes shifted to the two for a moment before returning back to their duties. Streak heard a few of them mutter. 

“Holy shit, an actual umbreon and espeon. Didn’t think we see em here.”

“And this is important why Clark?”

“Because they’re supposed to be rare in the wild.” 

“Cut the chatter you two. Keep your eyes peeled. We’re still in a war zone here.” Streak ignored them as he continued to gawk at the monstrosity that stood before him.

“By Ho-Oh... What kind of machine is this?”

“I… It’s that metal box.” 

It was a crude description to be sure. It was indeed a metal box that sat on tractor treads, but judging by its appearance it was a hell of a lot more than that. Streak had seen his fair share of strange contraptions created by the humans in his life, more so than most other wild Pokemon who lived closed to human settlements. Even so, the form of the metal beast was strange and unnerving to him as his eyes fell upon the snout that protruded from the head of whatever this thing was. It had a vague resemblance to an octillary, being shrouded in a thick carapace like that of a tyrannitar. 

Considering that it came with those heavily armed humans, it didn’t take a psychic to guess at its purpose. The very aura that Luna mentioned before was almost smothering in its cold embrace, promising death to any who dared to challenge it. A great power was contained within its long snout, ready and eager to unleash its wrath on those who would threaten its charges. The very fact that the humans constructed such a monstrosity spoke volumes about who they were, something that chilled Streak to the very bone. 

He was not the sharpest scout in the pack, but Streak had seen enough of the humans they didn’t construct things like this unless they had a purpose in mind. His gaze shifted to the other protrusions on the vehicle. One elongated barreled jutted out of a slab of metal with a small box hitched to its side, while a smaller snout sat alongside its bigger counterpart. He felt his mate recoil in revulsion across the mental connection.

“Gods… That thing stinks with the stench of death. When I sensed it, I didn’t know why. I didn’t even know that human objects could create such an aura, yet here it is standing before us. Next to these other humans...” She shivered, giving Streak a long look of pain. 

“Streak, these humans are well practiced in the art of war. Not just war, but killing their fellow humans. They reek of the misery that they have sewed wherever they tread.” 

“Luna I-” 

“I didn’t sense it before Streak. But having plumbed the story of their aura...” She shook her head. “These humans scare me Streak. They aren’t like the Rockets from back in Johto. They don’t reek of malevolent intent like most of the Rockets we fought. They feel normal. I can feel a nobility within them, a purity of purpose. But… It’s drenched in the blood of those they spilled. I-, I don’t know what to make of these humans Streak except the inkling of what is to come.”

“Luna please calm down.” Regret fell on him the moment those words left his lips. His mate glowered as she stormed up to him. 

“Calm down!? I don’t think you understand the implications as to what we sensing from them Streak.” Streak’s eyes narrowed as he paced around her. 

“I do Luna. I’ve been around them before I ever met you. I can sense them just as you do from where I am at right now. I know that these humans are warriors that have spilled blood. I know they are well honed with their craft of fighting, enough to be a danger to Pokemon like us. I also know they won’t harm us unless we give them a damn good reason to do so. Humans are ignorant, destructive beings, even sometimes malevolent. But aside from the Rockets and some others, most don’t mean to do us harm. So please Lu, just calm down.” Luna blinked for a moment, her breathing slowing down before coming back down to normal.

“I… You’re right Streak. My apologies. I just feel overwhelmed.” Streak moved in on his mate, nuzzling her before offering a small smile.

“I know you do Lu. But we gotta stay focused and get our kits out of here.” He glanced at the other humans and the tank before turning back to his mate. 

“These humans mentioned there is a safe zone where a lot of humans are barricaded at. If we go with them, we might be able to find ourselves a spot to hold up in until all of this blows over.” A sense of unease settled over the espeon.

“You mean for us to go with them.”

“I do.” Luna sighed, putting a paw to her forehead.

“And what makes you think they would even allow us to go with them? What makes you think we would even be safe with them? Better yet, what makes you think we won’t be captured by them?” Streak gave her a smirk.

“Because I got a good feeling in my gut about it.” Luna’s jaw fell for a bit before giving a frustrated sigh.

“Oh for the love of Arceus Streak, its times like these when I wonder why I fell for you in the first place.”

“Because of my witty charm?” He said, giving a cheeky grin. Luna’s eyes narrowed. Streak pulled back, coughing as he gave his mate a sheepish look.

“Right, sorry about that.” Luna glowered for a moment before sighing.

“Apology accepted. But even if we went with them, our kits are going to be left vulnerable out in the open. Arceus knows that a lot of Pokemon here are in a frenzy for one reason or another, which means we’ll be potential targets. I-” Her eyes widened. Streak blinked before turning to see what she saw. His gut fell out from under him. Before his very eyes he saw his kits had somehow managed to get past without their noticing and were now playing with some of the human soldiers. Storm in particular somehow managed to get atop the metal box, spitting his tongue at at Tulip who glared back at him.

“Storm get down here! We’re not supposed to be out here.”

“Why should I? Dad and the humans took care of the beedrill. And the humans don’t seem half bad.” 

“That isn’t the point! Mom and Dad wanted us in the den so we stay safe.”

“But it’s safe right now Tulip. Ain’t nothing is gonna hurt us out here. Or are you just a scaredy meowth?”

“What? Oh you are so going to get it!” Tulip fumed, jumping up onto the vehicle. Streak gave his mate a glance. Without saying a word, they both nodded. They both began to pace towards their kits, each of their steps synchronized. The kits continued to play until Kindle saw their mother walking towards them.

“Uh oh.” 

Meanwhile Storm had paced up next to the vehicle and waited. Storm dash around the top of the tank while his sister tired to catch him. She lunged, only for her brother to leap over her. Before she could do anything Storm tackled her, sending them both tumbling down to the ground. Storm grinned. By sheer coincidence, they fell in such a way that they faced away from their father. 

“Face it sis, you gotta long way to go before you can beat me in a fight.”

“That isn’t what this is about! Daddy wants us to remain in the den so no bad Pokemon or humans get us.”

“Do you see any bad Pokemon or humans around here? I don’t.” It was at this point Streak moved up behind them and waited. 

“No, you don’t.” Both kits froze. Streak couldn’t help but savor the looks they had as it dawned upon them the reality of their situation. Streak waited for a moment, letting his eyes burrow in on them.

“Oh… Hi dad.”

“Hello, son.” Streak said, making sure to stress the last word. He glanced at Tulip, who recoiled as she shut her eyes waiting for her inevitable punishment. 

“Tulip, please be a dear and go help your mother fetch the rest of your siblings. I’ll be with you in just a sec.” Tulip opened her eyes, gazing up at her father with uncertain eyes.

“Bu-”

“Now Tulip.” 

“Yes dad!” She scampered off to meet her mother while out of the corner of his eye he saw Storm try to tip toe around the armored box. He sighed, drawing in upon the darkness around him. Time slowed as Streak walked around the corner of the armored vehicle and waited around the corner before fading back into reality. Time resumed its normal course as Storm bolted around the corner, only to slam into his father. He looked up, blinking in horror as he tried to back away. Streak stomped, causing the kit to yelp.

“You are in a lot of trouble pup.” He growled.

“But Dad I-” 

“Zip it!” Storm flinched as he bore down on his son. 

“Did I not make it clear that you were not to leave the den under any circumstances except for an emergency?” Storm said nothing, eyes shifting about as he tried to fish around for an excuse. 

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I… I am sorr-” 

“Save it. I am not in the mood. I want you to go and stay with your mother until we say otherwise. I thought I had stressed the importance of you staying together with your siblings, only for you to drag them out here instead!”

“But dad, they came with me by themselves! They didn’t-” The kit yelped as his father barreled down on him. Storm whimpered as his father glared at him, growling as his fangs showed themselves. For a moment he did not relent. Then he backed off with a sigh.

“I am disappointed in you Storm. As of the oldest of your siblings, I expect you to be a leader and set an example for the rest of them. Instead you come out here frolicking in the middle of a war zone, dragging the rest of your brothers and sisters with you.” 

“How do you even know-”

“I just do Storm. I just do. I have tried to stress to you time and time again the importance of staying together with your brothers and sisters, yet your spur your mother and I when we are trying to take care of you. I just…” Streak sighed, running a paw down his face.

“Dad...” 

“Just get with your mother kit. I am not in the mood to argue with you. We will have words about this later. Consider yourself grounded until further notice.”

“But-” 

“I said now!” Though he tried his best to hide it, tears began to pour down Storm’s face. His lips trembled as he back away a few steps from his father. 

“You never let me go out on my own! You always keep me cooped up in the den! I- I hate you!” With that the kit bolted. Streak stared at him, his heart threatening to break but remained unmoved. He hated to punish his children like this, but what else could he do for a kit that absolutely refused to obey their instruction even after both he and his mate explained to him indepth?

Under the circumstances, he needed to make an impression on the kit so that he understood just what he put at risk. Quite frankly, he was almost out of shits to give in the stressful situation they were in, what with being dropped into unknown, hostile territory and humans to boot. Put simply, he was feeling drained. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Tulip watching them from the corner of the vehicle. Her mouth was open in what he was sure to be some form of horror. He winced as she ran to Storm, nuzzling him.

“Storm! Are you alright?” The kit did not respond for a moment before shaking his head. He began to slump his way back to the rest of his siblings, tears still dripping down all the while his ears drooped. The kit did not appear to notice as he dragged his tail behind him. Tulip looked back at Streak, ears flat as she looked at him with a tight look of fear. 

‘Tulip...” He stopped as the kit back away from him. 

“D-dad, why did you do that? I-” She shook her head before dashing after her older brother. Streak stared, the look of fear she gave him burned into his mind. He slumped against the nearby vehicle, banging his head in the process as his eyes shut tight. 

“Way to go Streak. Losing your temper like that is sure to convince your son why it isn’t safe to go out there. You fucking idiot. Like father like fucking son.” His eyes wandered, locking on to a group of humans who were glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes.

“You saw what I saw?”

“We saw it and heard it Mark. Now shut up and keep watch or you’ll end up having one of those flying fucks try to claw your eyes out like they did to Moris.”

“Fine, fine.” Streak forced himself to suppress the urge to bare his fangs. 

“The hell do they think they are to judge me?”

“You looked like you were about to tear your kit’s throat. It’s a wonder why they didn’t shoot you first moron.” A voice in the back of his replied. Streak shook his head as he pulled himself up and sighed.

“You don’t have time for this shit. Focus Streak. Just get your family to safety, then worry about the consequences of fucking up as a father. Get it together.” His ears perked as the sound of more vehicles coursing down the road. He looked to see another armored beast like the one next to him settle next to its counterpart, while two smaller versions of it settled behind it. 

“Of course they have more of those monsters.” As if that wasn’t enough, more human soldiers wielding a variety of weapons came strolling up beside them. Streak’s eyes were drawn the vehicle that just arrived as the hatch on it sprung open with a dark skinned human popping out of it. The man gave him a glance before waving down the sergeant as he walked over to them. 

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Sergeant Randell. How ya doin you old devildog?” By this point the sergeant had come to a stop. 

“Doing fine Watkins. Quite the coincidence that we’d run into each other like this.”

“It’s my hometown man. Course I’d come here to defend it. Though I'm surprised to see you here with us weekend warriors. Had enough pounding sand with the marines?”

“Nah. Figured I teach the little doggies here how a real man fights.” 

“Aww, how sweet of you. Must be getting soft in your old age.”

“Don’t count on it.” Both men laughed a bit before another man walked up to them. Both men gave each other a nod. 

“You Sergeant Randell?” He nodded. “Good. I’m Sergeant Hayden, here to assist you with my squad. LT figured you needed the extra firepower, so we are here to assist.”

“Placing me in command?”

“You’ve got experience in these matters, so the lieutenant wants us to defer to you until further notice.” Randell nodded. 

“I can work with that.” Randell glanced between the two men.

“So here’s the plan. Watkins, Sergeant Hayden and I will keep your tanks covered while we rely on you to blow up anything that tries to get too close to us. My squad will take point while Hayden’s will serve as the rearguard. Hopefully we’ll get to the square without incident, but just in case I want you to shell anything big, mean, and ugly that looks at us funny. Hayden, you keep an eye out for any rats that try to rear end us. Sound good?” Both of them nodded.

“You got it man. Now let’s get a move on. Those civvies aren’t gonna save themselves.” A sound of affirmatives were heard, with Watkins popping back into the tank while Hayden went off to inform his men of the plan. Sergeant Randell meanwhile called up on his own men. 

“Alright boys, we’re moving out! We’ve got a square to secure and beasties to clear. Keep those trigger fingers ready and keep your head on a swivel. Make sure none of them try to sneak up on us.” Affirmatives were heard as the men got into position. Streak stared at them for a moment before a cold presence descended upon him. He glanced out of the corner of his vision to see Luna glaring daggers at him. A stab of pain lanced through his brain as his mate made contact.

“Get over here. Now.” Numb, he walked over to her until they were both eye to eye. Streak winced as he felt her aura burn with barely restrained rage, tempered by a cold will to keep her temper in check. Her pupils sharpened as disgust blew through the connection, though it softened somewhat as the numbness in Streak’s own passed through her. An idle thought of where the kits were passed through him before he was shaken with psychic punch to his gut. He gasped, but held firm as he remained rooted to the ground.

“That was for going too far Streak. Storm needed to be chastised, not traumatized in such a way like you have done. For Arceus sake Streak, what were you thinking!?” She said, her voice bordering on shouting. For a moment he held his tongue, shame burning through him. The rage Luna had felt from before smoldered somewhat, a look of understanding passing through her features. 

“I have no excuse. I let my temper get the better of me.” Luna pawed her face, her feelings bleeding through the connection as she inferred his mental state and put two and two together. She shook her head. He sensed there was much she wanted to say, her emotions ebbing and flowing as the hot anger from before lulled down to a quiet simmer as she stowed it in the back of her mind. 

“Oh Streak. When we get to a safe place, we’re going to have a talk. A long one.” She got up and paced over to the kits, Streak following likewise as he gave a nod through their mental connection. Not much needed to be said, for their emotions spoke volumes alone. But not enough. She glanced back at him.

“I’m going to stay over with the kits. I think it would be best if you stayed away for a bit while I talk things down with them. Okay?”

“That’s fine.” He murmured. Luna frowned. 

“Streak, don’t get yourself killed out there. The last thing we need is for you to throw your life away on a whim. We will talk this over and get through this. But we need a little time to cool off. Just try to think of what you are going to say and make things up with the kits.” Streak grunted an affirmative. His ears perked as one of the human tanks gunned their engines and began moving forward, the human foot soldiers having already moved up a few paces in a patterned that covered all possible angles of approach. He glanced back at her. 

“Well, either we start moving now or get left behind. I’ll stay a bit up front to see if anything’s coming. Just be ready to pop a shield if needed.” She nodded before casting a glance at one of the smaller human vehicles. 

“Be careful Streak.” With that she bounded off to the kits, herding them behind one of the human vehicles while Streak went on ahead behind the lead tank. He paused as he caught the gaze of Sergeant Randell. The man’s eye’s narrowed before he barked at the two soldiers from before. 

“Conners, Ramirez! What the hell are they doing behind the vehicles?” To their credit, the rest of the soldiers only gave a brief look before returning to their tasks while the Matt and Locke paused to cast a look in their direction. Streak could hear Locke mutter a swear while Matt’s gaze rested on them for a few moments. 

“I think they want to come with us sir.” Streak cold almost hear something crack as the sergeant’s eyes narrowed. He stood rooted to the ground as the man’s eyes touched him down. The moment passed before he returned it back on to Matt. 

“We don’t have time to babysit them. If they want to come along, fine. But I expect them to stay the hell out of our way.” Just as Streak was about to release the breath he had been holding, he froze as the man returned his gaze back on to him. 

“You understand me right pup? I don’t care what the hell you do so as long as it doesn’t interfere with our mission. If you are coming with us, I expect you and your family to stay the hell out of our way. Make any sudden and stupid moves, my men will shoot you without a second thought. Are we clear?” Streak gave a vigorous nod, hoping the human understood the message. 

“Good.” Streak released the breath he had been holding, taking a breath of air. 

“Sir, they can probably bunker down with the rest of the civvies up near the forward firebase. They can probably keep each other company till this blows over. We can also keep those kits inside one of the Brads until we get there.” Randell gave a side glance to the soldier before releasing a pent up sigh as he nodded. 

“Fine. Good enough for me. Conners, you just volunteered for escort. Ramirez take point. We’re moving out.” With that the humans took positions around the lead tank while Conners made to get his family inside one of the metal boxes. He blinked as he took a telephone from one of the vehicles. Following a short exchange, the rear of it popped open. In short order the kits were herded inside the beast after a brief protest before being silenced by their mother. As the were herded inside, Luna gave him a look. 

“Will you be alright out here Streak?”

“I will. Just sit tight. We’ll get out of this mess soon enough.” With that he closed the connection and paced behind the Abrams. All said and done the column began making headway to the rally point. Though only a few minutes had passed, time seemed to slow as they made their way to their destination. While this was happening, Streak couldn’t help but note the manner in which the humans carried themselves. Every possible angle of attack was swept and covered by the muzzles of their thundersticks as they moved down street by street. All the while the metal beast traversed its large snout, looking for anything dumb enough to line itself up against its sights. The few times a rabid feral did try to attack them proved the folly of their actions as they were silenced in quick order. 

Time and time again they were assaulted by ferals, yet before Streak could even lift a paw to engage they were repulsed by fusillades of human fury. Anything that tried to get close was simply shredded to pieces by sheer volume of fire. From a distance these weapons they wielded were loud enough to cause discomfort to Streak’s sensitive ears, but up close next to so many it would have been deafening if it weren’t for the psi shield that Luna had projected over them. He winced as Locke fired a burst at a beedrill that had turned the corner, causing to slam into the ground with no further movement. Thus far none had made it close enough to warrant either Streak’s or Luna’s intervention. 

As they got closer to the rally point, Streak couldn’t help but notice the attacks on them had actually lessened in intensity, petering out as they came closer and closer to their objective. Every so often he heard sporadic thunderfire coming from what he presumed was their destination, along with the roars and attacks from what he knew to be other Pokemon. He shook his head as the closed in, glancing at the vehicles traveling alongside them. Even after all that had attacked them, none of the vehicles present bothered to use their primary armaments, instead content to utilizing their smaller snouts to swat anything that tried to bunch up against them from ground to sky with the utmost contempt. Though considering how effective the were at turning them into so much blood mush, their primary armament would be overkill if their secondaries were any indication. Even for fodder Pokemon, Streak could not help but be galled at the utter ease to see Pokemon torn apart by human weaponry. Though it probably held true that the majority of the humans didn’t have access to this weaponry, (Or so he hoped.) the fact that they did have them spoke volumes. 

A shiver went down his spine as a tarous was blown to pieces by one of the “brads” secondary snouts. Just why in Arceus’s name did they need so much damn firepower for? As far as he could tell, Pokemon were either rare or completely nonexistent if what the humans said were anything to go by. He shook the thought as he saw they were coming up on a barricade of cars and furniture manned by a mixture of police, civilians and soldiers. One of them got up and waved as the lead squad came up to them. 

“About damn time you got here. What took you so long?” Sergeant Randell walked up to him, giving a nod which was returned in kind. 

“Got held up by a bit of inclement traffic. Sergeant Randell, 36th Infantry Division.”

“Sergeant Finch, 8th Regiment, CO of this sorry bunch of rabble here.” He glanced at the vehicles behind him. “Glad to see you brought some firepower.”

“Yup. Here to reinforce and set up a checkpoint for the engineers behind us.” He lifted his head over the man’s shoulder. “Seems you’ve been quite busy.” Streak bounded up next to one of the cars to get a better vantage point of the area. The fox flinched, his gut curling at the sight. He had seen a build up of bodies as they came closer and closer to the rally point. The umbreon had seen his fair share of corpses at this point. But the sight before him sent a wave of nausea through his body. 

On the other street connecting towards the main encampment, dozens upon dozens of corpses littered the street, made up of a disturbing number of different mons. Some were piled on top of each other while others still looked to have been torn apart by an enraged tyrannitar. 

“Or human weapons fire.” Streak balked, his chest constricting as he found himself taking a step back. 

“Oh gods. Why are there so many?”He felt a pulse come across his connection as Luna bounded up to him.

“Streak? What’s going on? Are you-” Her eyes widen as she came upon the sight. “Oh Arceus…” She mumbled, her horror and revulsion cutting clear across the connection as Streak threw up in his mouth. He heard Luna struggle not to lose her own meal herself as forced himself up and to his mate. 

“Lu, make sure the kits don’t see this. Please.” She gave him a glance, radiating concern through their connection.

“Streak-” He shook his head. 

“Don’t worry about me. Just… Just make sure they don’t see it okay?” She hesitated for a few seconds before nodding, bounding away to the human vehicle with their kits in it. The umbreon took a deep breath, calming his gut as he took a look around him. His eyes narrowed upon seeing the humans at the barricades casting their gazes at them.

“Care to explain why you have those two with you?” One asked. Randell sighed. 

“Apparently they wanted to come with us after those two managed to rescue them from a swarm of those oversized hornets.” He said, pointing to Conners and Locke. The man nodded. 

“Well, won’t be too much a difference since we already got one hell of a circus here.” Streak blinked. 

“A circus?” He whispered. Sergeant Randell himself narrowed his eyes, his posture shifting ever so slightly the umbreon almost didn’t notice it.

“What do you mean that you have a circus-” His expression shifted to one of shock, then mute understanding in rapid succession.

“Oh.” Before Streak could ponder further, a green set of scales slunk from behind one wreaked cars, moving up besides one the human. The umbreon took a moment to examine this newcomer. They wasn’t like any mon he had seen before, but the closest he could approximate them to was an Arbok if they were a grass type. Yet Streak found himself struck by how the snake carried itself. The way it slithered seemed to carry a degree of elegance and finesse that Arbok did not have. The way they held its head up high, its form contorting just so in a manner the screamed cultured, almost as if they were saying I’m better than you, just rubbed him the wrong way. Almost as if the snake thought he owned the place. Before he could make any other comments, the snake pulled up besides the human. 

“So more human soldats come to this little place.” He said, his voice oozing with a thick accent as he gave the human a once over before nodding. Randell eyes widened, causing the snake to chuckle at his reaction. 

“You have not misheard Sergeant Randell. I am indeed capable of human speech. Allow me to introduce myself.” The serpent pointed to himself with his tail. “I am Claude Jacquinot, a serperior whose bloodline who dates back to the founding of Kalos itself. But more relevant to our interests, I am acting as a liason between you humans and a not insubstantial group of Pokemon who have great interest in not getting torn to bloody shreds by your weapons fire.” The Pokemon paused, the human looking more uncomfortable by the second as the snake looked him over with those piercing eyes, his long form weaving over and under for a few seconds before returned to a more neutral posture.

“A fine specimen indeed monsieur, especially for those of your ilk. Always good to see such a well groomed and gritted soldat working in service for their fatherland.” He said, nodding with a degree of approval. Sergeant Randell gawked for a moment before giving a flat look at Sergeant Finch, who shrugged in response as he shook his head.

“He’s been here for a couple days before the latest incursions hit. Part of some group of Pokemon that pieced themselves together on a adhoc basis and looking to smooth things over so we don’t shoot all of them on sight. In return, they were willing to try and see to it that any mons that come here don’t end up going on a killing sphere or start destroying every building in sight.” Claude nodded. 

“That is the general idea. Though we were looking into some more permanent arrangements that would prove beneficial between us until these mad ruffians started to butcher everything. Why we were just making progress when that-” Sergeant Randell held up a hand. 

“While I’m very interested in the intricacies of all of this, my men and I have a job to do.” The serperior bowed, Streak blinking as he pulled his two vestigial hands together. 

“But of course mousier. I’ll leave the two of you to it.” He said. The serperior pulled away, gesturing with his vines for the two of them to continue. Finch gave Randell a sympathetic look.

“You get used to it. But anyway, we could use some more ammo and heavy weapons if you have them. Had a few big bastards try to ram their way through the barricade, nothing a few rockets couldn’t hurt. But we’re running a bit low on them.” Randell grunted.

“We’ll take care of that problem.” He looked to the rest of the squad, his aura shifting to something more commanding as he stood up straighter.

“Alright, I want weapons and ammo deployed on the double! Hawkins, Lawson! Get those LAWS up here! Smith, go with Jones and start dispersing that ammo!” A few yes sirs were heard as Randell peppered them with orders and instructions while the rest of the humans began to help fortify the position. Others took up spots along side the defenders while others still began to distribute weapons and ammo to the beleaguered defenders. Streak glanced back, managing to suppress his retching just in time to see one of the soldiers herding kits over to them. Upon sighting their mother, the eevee scampered up to her. 

“Mom! I’m so glad to see you. That thing was so cramped and stuffy!” Tulip said, rubbing her head underneath her mother’s chin. Luna returned the gesture, looking at the rest of the kits with warm eyes while Streak kept a careful distance between him and the rest of his family. 

“I know dear, but at least you are here safe and sound.” Streak stared, his heart pulling as fought the urge to join up with them. 

“Not yet. Now is not the right time.” 

“What isn’t the right time?” Streak jumped. Turning his head up, he reared as he saw the serperior from before right in front of him. 

“How-” 

“You were not paying attention mousier. Though you cannot be faulted for such inattention considering you seem to have a lot on your mind.” He said, unable to conceal the slight mirth from his voice. Streak’s lips pulled in a snarl, his fangs glinting in the sunlight

“And what’s it to you? Last I checked, it wasn’t any of your damned business.” The serperior shrugged.   
“I am afraid it is my business little eeveelution. We are rather interested in keeping the peace between us and the humans, especially the ones armed those rather wicked firearms. You have seen the results of what happen to the mons that opposed them I trust.” He scowled, pulling himself back on to one of the cars nearby, standing at somewhat more head level with the snake. 

“So? That’s just those humans. Can’t be all of them that have them. Just those damned soldiers. And even then, it isn’t like they can hurt the mons from places like Mt. Silver who know what they’re doing.” Streak said, trying to ignore the growing tension on his scalp. Claude tsked, shaking his head before lowering it until they were eye to eye. Streak froze, taken aback by the shift in the serperior’s eyes as they bore right into his soul. 

“Don’t play dumb mousier. Your body tells me you know otherwise. You don’t really believe that after having accompanied those soldats with their tanks. Or seeing the bodies of those mad mons that currently litter the street beyond this barricade.” He said, flicking his head toward the path adjacent from the path they came from. Streak pulled back a step, both from the shift in tone from the serperior and the image flashing through his mind. The serperior seemed to pick up on this as his eyes narrowed in the slightest of increments.

“Tell me little fox. Have you seen those tanks deign to utilize their primary armaments? Or at the very least their secondary ones?” Streak’s ears pulled back on reflex as he shot a look at the said vehicles. 

“I did. At least with the ‘brads’ using their smaller snouts. It wasn’t pretty.” Claude nodded.

“I would presume as much.” He paused for a moment as they heard the human vehicles gun their engines. The two ‘tanks’ began to move, orienting themselves as they took defensive positions behind the barricade while the two brads closed up their hatches as the last of their contents were taken from their stomachs before likewise moving further elsewhere in the compound along with some of the human soldiers. Streak blinked as he saw a machoke take up several of the boxes before disappearing behind a tent.

“There are more of you here?” Claude shot him a flat stare.

“Were you not paying attention Umbreon? You did hear I was serving as a liason between the humans and a group of mons that have settled here in the camp, no?” Streak sputtered in indignation. 

“I… I did-” Claude sighed, taking a breath before continuing. 

“You’ll become acquainted with the other mons soon little umbreon. But returning to the topic at hand, the humans here are dangerous, unlike in the manner of the humans that we are familiar with. These humans need not rely on the will and power of other Pokemon to do their dirty work for them, for they have found fine alternatives all on their own. I must concede that as fine as the Kalosian military may be in our integrated service between humans and Pokemon alike, what little research I have managed to achieve during my short stay here is quite… Unsettling shall we say.” He paused, flicking his tongue in thought. Streak’s tail flicked behind him as he put down the urge to spit in irritation. 

“Unsettling how? Get to the damn point Serperior.” Claude gave him a side eye for a moment before turning back to him. 

“Unsettling in the way that Kalos would be a mere speed bump, our military made a mockery of in almost every regard in the span of a few months. Granted we would make them bleed for every centimeter of ground they take, but if brought to anger...” He trailed off as his eyes pulled into the distance. Streak felt his gut curl, sensing the snake’s mood shift. 

“Serperior?” Claude blinked, turning back to the umbreon. 

“Apologies mousier. My mind was elsewhere at that moment. But to put it plainly, the humans here do not need the power of the legends to eviscerate the heart of Kalos if they so desired it. They have militarized themselves to such a degree that I have not seen in Kalos’s long history, or for any of the other regions for that matter if what I heard from the others is true. Their strength is such that if they so desired it, they could take on the combined might of Kalos, Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, and Hoenn and emerge the victor.” Streak paused, taking a moment to digest the information presented to him before he shaking his head.

“Tarous shit. Even if they don’t need to siphon off the power of a legendary like those lunatic humans from Team Rocket would, the legendaries would stop them in their tracks. I’ll admit, what we felt from these humans disturbs us, but so what? Even with these oversized metal octillery and whatever else they have, they always balk when they have truly angered a legendary. That’s always been the constant with the stories whenever some humans are stupid enough to think they can overtake and use us for their own greed.” The serperior raised an eye for a moment before chuckling. 

“Then you truly do not know what these humans are capable of monsieur. Perhaps it is best it is kept that way for the sake of your inner peace, for that statement you made is false.” Streak tensed, looking for any sign that the serperior was fucking with him. But there was no proud boasting to be had in the serperior’s posture. Nor any smug superiority in Claude’s voice. It was just a matter of fact, a fundamental rule of the universe. 

“False? But… How can that be?”  
A chill ran down Streak’s body at the implication made. But before he could inquire for more information, the serperior perked up as the last of the ammo and weapons were deployed amongst the defenders. It was then Streak noticed that some of the humans manning the posts were not in uniformed clothing. 

“Ah, but I have digressed long enough. We should get you and your family comfortable in this little compound. It is probably among the safer areas all things considered with the human military and mad mons roaming about. Come then mousier, let’s get you settled in.” Streak was not sure whether confronting his family or the fact that plain clothed humans were also armed with those thundersticks unnerved him more. He shook his head, forcing himself onward as he followed the serperior.

Luna gave him a glance before her eyes widened as he pulled up alongside the serperior, keeping the kits at her back as they approached. 

“What was all that about? And who are you supposed to be?” She said, giving the serperior a once over as her gem glowed a soft hue. The serpent gave her a bow before straightening himself up with a smile.   
“Greetings madame. I am Claude Jacquinot, a serperior of noble lineage hailing from Kalos. But more relevant to your interest is that I am currently serving as a liason between the humans and a group of mons who have the common interest of not being blown apart by human weapons fire or getting shredded by those mad mons that currently roam the premises.” Luna’s expression did not change, but Streak could feel her eyes roll across their connection. 

“So just a fancy civil in other words.” The serperior’s face did not betray any emotion that Streak could tell, remaining non pulsed as he cocked his head. 

“A ‘civil’ who happens to be able to communicate with the humans. But otherwise an accurate, if somewhat crude assessment madame Espeon. But I sense you care little for who I am and what I could do for you.” 

“You can talk to humans? I thought that wasn’t possible without being a psychic.” Storm perked up, awe clear on his face. Luna gave a soft but stern look at him, causing the little eevee to pull back. 

“Hush little one. Not impossible, but difficult.” The espeon shot the serperior an apologetic nod.

“My apologies for Storm here.” Claude dipped his head down in a shrug. 

“Curiosity is the foundation for a strong mind madame. But to answer your burning unspoken question little eevee, it can be done. Provided of course you are introduced to the language at an early age, from which point it becomes easy as to use as one would speak with our Common tongue.” He shifted his gaze back to Luna. 

“But more pertinent to our interests, I wish for you to become acclimated to this compound and make yourselves comfortable, at least for the time being. Safer here than out in the wilds I assure you.” Luna’s eyes narrowed, shooting a look at Streak before returning it back to Claude. 

“May we have a moment to ourselves?” He nodded. 

“But of course. I’ll be close by in case you need to talk with the humans. Call my name if you need anything.” He said, slithering off before stopping for a moment. “Oh, and do be sure to clear things up amongst yourselves before entering the camp. The humans here are somewhat on edge as it is.” Streak sputtered, unable to say a word as Claude bowed and slithered behind one of the many tents in the area. Sighing, Streak pulled his head up as he looked back at the rest of his family as the kits muttered amongst themselves. 

An awkward silence descended upon them as Streak cocked his head to either side, trying to think of something to say. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, he saw a human in police uniform along with a few soldiers from before walk up to them.

“So you brought in a few more strays in I see.” The uniformed human muttered. Streak growled, causing them to tense.

“We are not strays you stupid human.” He said, fighting off the urge to spit off a fouler curse. The officer and a few others shot a look at them before turning to one of the soldiers, who shook his head. 

“They’ve been tagging along since Conners stumbled on them in a ditch a few minutes back. Nearly got himself and Ramirez turned into a shish kebbab from those oversized hornets because they weren’t paying attention. Lucky they managed to escape because of this umbreon if what they say is any indication.”

“I see...” The officer’s gaze rested on the kits, who were huddled close to their mother while they held on tight to their bars. Luna blinked, raising her eye before chuckling. 

“They find them cute it seems. They certainly aren’t wrong.” Streak relaxed a little, some of the ice from before melting away as their connection began to warm again. 

“Something we can leverage to our advantage.” Luna gave a mental nod as the humans continued their conversation.

“Well at least you got some friendly ones.” He chuckled. 

“True.” Whatever relief Streak felt was stopped as a bulky man in plain clothes walked up to them. Upon seeing the kits, he raised an eye.

“Looking kinda ragged though. You said you found them in a ditch?” The soldier nodded.

“We did.” The man furrowed his brows for a few moments before heading back towards them. Streak jumped in front of his mate and the kits and growled, causing the man to stop with his hands raised. 

“Hey easy now! Don’t mean any harm. Just want to give them a quick check to see if they’re alright.” One of the other humans shook his head. 

“You’re lucky that we just got ourselves some fresh supplies to waste it on these things that have been tearing up the town.” Streak’s eyes narrowed, causing the human in question to back up a little as the man sighed. 

“Now that ain’t right of ya to talk that way. They haven’t hurt anyone yet.”

“For now...” The man sighed before going to a knee in front of Streak. The man’s voice took on a more homely, down to earth tone as he began to talk. 

“Now listen here now. That big snake Claude sent me to check in on you to see if you’re alright. I work as a veterinarian around these here parts, and from my view your lady don’t seem too good. I want to give her a look over and provide some medical aid to her and the rest of you if you’ll allow it. We don’t have to if you don’t, but I would highly recommend you do.” Streak paused, gauging the man for a few moments before looking back to Luna. 

He didn’t sense anything off about the man, but even still having them near his mate and kits set him ill at ease. He looked up and noticed Matt had walked in while he was thinking, who gave a nod.

“Let the man do his work. I’ll be close by if anything happens.” Streak grimaced, his gaze wandering on his mate for a few moments. 

“I don’t sense anything off from him Streak. If worse comes to worst, I can always toss him into that fountain over there.” He sighed, tossing his head in a gesture. 

“Come human. I’ll be watching.” He nodded. 

“I’ll take that as a yes then.” The human grunted, making his way over before setting his back and rifle down next to the espeon. Streak kept a close eye on the human as he crouched, taking up her paw when Storm growled. The human raised a hand, pulling back as Streak shot the eevee a stern gaze. 

“Storm! Let the man do his work.” The eevee glared at him, defiance burning hot in his eyes with hackles raised.

“Over my dead body. You may not care about mom, but I-” 

“Enough.” Storm flinched, cowering as his mother towered over him. 

“What your father did before was unacceptable Storm. But I expect you to behave when we both agree on a course of action. I will have words with your father, but in the meantime I want you to behave and let the human do his job. We will have a talk over this, but for now I am asking you to stay put. Do you understand?” The eevee curled in on himself, almost hesitating as he looked between her, the man, and his father a few times before giving a reluctant nod. 

“Yes mother.” He whispered. Luna nodded, her features easing as her warm smile returned. 

“Good. Now make some room then.” Storm complied, his tail slouched as he rejoined the rest of the kits while she shot a look over to Streak.

“Don’t think I have forgotten Streak. We’re going to talk about this once things have settled down.” 

“I wouldn’t expect otherwise dear.” He replied without missing a beat. Her gaze lingered on him for a few moments before turning back to the human and gestured him over with her tail. The rest of the humans looked each other in amusement before shrugging. 

“Well that happened. Might as well go get her while you still can.”

“Already on it.” The man muttered, taking a careful look at the espeon as he checked each part of her body. Luna twitched as a warm hand pressed against her head, pressing down in certain spots before moving down to the rest of her body. After a few moments the man pulled back and fished out a water bottle, uncapping the top before he offered it to Luna. The human flinched as Luna seized it in her grasp, the plastic container hovering in midair as the she took in several long gulps of the precious liquid. Fifteen seconds passed before Luna relented, replacing the cap back on with a sigh as the man chuckled in bemusement. 

“Well, that certainly happened. Guess you do have psychic powers or whatever it is. I’ll leave you the rest of the bottle.” Luna nodded her head, muttering a thank you as he pulled back up to his feet.

“Anyway you aren’t in too bad of a shape. Just a lot of muscle fatigue and tension in your body. I’d advise you take it easy for the time being until you manage to recuperate. Don’t do anything strenuous and you’ll be fine in about a week or so. Keep yourself hydrate and you should be good.” He said, giving her a small smile. Luna returned it as her own lips curled upward.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” The man waved her off, pulling out a blanket and wrapping it around her. Luna accepted the offer, snuggling in its warm embrace as the rest of the kits smothered her. Save for one.

“Well that’s it then. I’m going back to my post. If you need anything, just holler.” 

Before the man could depart, Storm tried to pull out and charge him, only for Luna to pull him back into the blanket. A quiet whisper stopped his struggles as the man shook his head. 

“Feisty little fella.” He muttered, turning back to Streak as he adjusted the strap on his shoulder. 

“Keep an eye on your lady and make sure she doesn’t do anything to get herself hurt.” Streak gave the man a curt nod. Satisfied, the man nodded in return before the walking off back to his post. Streak released the breath he didn’t know he was holding, taking a deep gulp of air as the kits huddled up to their mother. He tensed as he felt Luna ping him, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. Sighing, he opened his mind as he reestablished his connection with her. 

***^^^***   
For a moment, nothing was said between the two as the seconds passed, letting the raw emotion of their beings pass into each other. At first Streak flinched as he felt a stern eye drill into him, but the sensation softened to that of understanding and concern as he soothing balm pressed into his very soul. Streak sighed, letting his muscles relax as Luna pruned away at the edges of his stress. No words were said, nor none were needed as the both tapped into their respective state of being. 

It wasn’t much compared to their deeper moments, but it could not be helped considering the situation after all. Just as well, Streak drank deep into Luna’s presence, all the while pulsing his own promise to make it up with his son and perhaps teach him a lesson from all of this. He felt Luna tense up in response, shooting him an apologetic nod. 

“I… I was in error.” Streak paused, shaking his head before nuzzling his mate. 

“No, you were just merely playing the concerned mother versus that of an irate father.”

“Yet Storm was acting out of line. I should have-” She stopped as Streak trail a lick down her fur. 

“Nonsense, just doing your part to keep each other in line so we can give our kits a good future.” Luna paused for a second before sighing. 

“Perhaps. An ever learning experience for the both of us. But I presume you’ll have words with our son anyhow, correct?” He nodded. The umbreon glanced towards his kits huddled up against their mother, each looking between him and their mother for several seconds as the silence passed. 

All that is, save for Storm. Luna made to nuzzle at eevee, only for the kit to pull away on reflex, determined to look anywhere but either his mother or father as he stared a hole into the ground. Streak bit his cheek as walked up next to him. As his shadow loomed over him, Storm’s head shot up, ears pulled back, eyes narrowed into daggers. 

“So now what? Gonna punish me for going out of line? For being a stupid little kit that doesn’t know any better?” Streak paused, considering his response as he shot a glance out to into the yonder for a moment before shaking his head. 

“No.” Storm blinked. Then he blinked again.

“No?”

“No.” Storm’s eyes furrowed.

“Then why are you here?” 

“To talk.” Storm shrugged, his ears easing up the slightest bit as he considered his father. 

“What’s there to talk about? That human didn’t smell good at all, and I didn’t want him hurting mom. Isn’t that what you taught us? To be weary of these humans? Especially the ones that reek of blood and other strange stuff?” 

“I did.” Streak paused, taking a moment to lay himself down next to Storm as he shifted into a more comfortable position. “Yet that human did not present such a major threat to warrant your response Storm. Caution, yes. Aggression, no. The human presented himself as one being friendly. While I myself may not care for these humans and their careless nature towards us Pokemon, I should think you should realize at least some of them are… Salvageable.” He paused, shaking his head as he stared into the ground. 

“Then again, it was my mistake not teaching you more upon the nuances of that. Or rather, the other stuff about humans at any rate that you should consider.” Storm raised an eye, cocking his head.

“What are you trying to say dad?” Streak resisted the urge to run a paw down his face as he gave a blank look towards his kit. 

“Simply put, I did not teach you as much as I should have. As such, I have failed in a sense.” Streak paused, letting the words sink in as Storm blinked. Streak shrugged in response to his unanswered question. 

“Even adults can be fallible sometimes. And I should have been at least a more diplomatic in terms of tone.” His eyes narrowed back on his son, causing Storm to shrink back a tad. 

“Still however, you should at least trust your mother, if not I personally to know when a human is or isn’t good enough to come close to us. If that human really had any bad intentions, did you think we would have let any of them come even several pawsteps close to us? Let alone without any of our marks upon them?” He sighed, taking a moment to flick away a stone from his paw pad. 

Was he even making any sense here? Arceus, this was just an awful time to have such a heart to heart discussion with his son. He was justified after all in keeping his son in line. Yet on the other, he and his mate were always of the philosophy of being diplomatic with their kits. Stern, yes, but always diplomatic until the situation called for discipline. He gave himself a mental shake of the head before turning back to Storm. 

“Tell me Storm, why do you think that human reeked of blood?” A few seconds passed as Storm screwed up his lips in concentration, glancing back at his mother and her bandages, blinking for a few seconds before a small “o” came upon his lips.

“I… I thought he was like those poachers you keep warning us about. The bad humans that always try to take us so they can force us to serve them or…” Whatever else Storm was about to say fell away as his gaze turned upon some of the human soldiers meandering about the compound. A second later a paw slammed on to the top of his snout as he let out a groan.

“I’m really a stupid kit.” Streak eased up for a moment as he let out a chuckle. Storm yelped at the unexpected physical contact as his father dragged him up to his side. 

“Sometimes Storm, but your old pops was stupid today too. Just a learning experience for the both of us.” He drew his head down so that they were both at eye level. 

“Hey, what do you say we learn from this silly little thing, as long as we promise each other to learn from it. I am glad to see you taking some initiative to protect your family, but you gotta let your head in the game and think a little before you act sometimes. It’s how your mother and I have lasted so long out here as it is. So, let’s move on from this and keep on our toes. With any luck, we’ll be out of here soon and I can take you on a little trip with me like I promised earlier.” The eevee’s ears perked up, his interest clear. 

“H-how soon?” Streak gave his son a feisty grin. 

“How does my next outing sound?” The eevee’s eyes widened. 

“R-really? You mean that?” Storm said, failing to keep the excitement down in his voice. Streak nodded, all the while he tried to ignore the burning gaze Luna was staring into the back of his skull.

“I might as well bring you since you are so dead set on it. You’re almost at the age when I started going out myself solo, and better you do it with me where I can see you. Can’t say your mother will be too pleased about it, but it’ll be a good little experience for the both of us. You. Me. Even your brothers and sisters as long as you behave yourself.” Storm yipped, burying his head into Streak’s torso as he rubbed against him. 

“I-I won’t let you down. I’ll be a good little kit, I promise! I’ll be the bestest, most greatest kit you’ll see!” Streak laughed, rubbing the scruff of Storm’s neck with a paw. 

“I don’t doubt that kiddo. Now why don’t we get back to your mother and siblings so we can settle in?” 

“Okay.” Storm said. Without any further words, the two parted in their embrace as the two walked back to their collected family. Storm joined up with the rest of the kits cuddling together as he informed them of their father’s intentions, while Luna fixed Streak with a glare. 

“So soon?” Streak shrugged. 

“If not now, when? I am concerned Lu, don’t get me wrong. But this’ll be a good learning experience for the lot of them. Better I take em out there under my supervision so they can get all that bundle of energy out of their systems than to risk them going out when we aren’t looking.” 

“Like you did?” She said, a hint of amusement bleeding through her voice. Streak’s eyes rolled. 

“Yes. Like me.” 

“Yes. Like him.” Streak bolted up, his eyes wide as he and his mate shot up to their feet. The umbreon growled, his head on a swivel while the gem on his mate’s forehead glowed an eerie red. 

“Show yourself ghost.” She spat. “Come out into the open where we can see you. Or I’ll drag you out of your little hiding spot myself.” She said, her gem flaring as she shot her head to a specific point. The disembodied voice giggled, with Streak’s fur tensing as an apparition rose from the concrete floor. The shade spun in a swirl before looking at them. A moment later, a slight smirk fell upon its features as it turned to Luna. 

“Greetings espeon. I see you too have made yourself comfortable here.” She purred, glancing at the kits behind her. Streak growled as the shade danced closer to them, a shadow ball already forming in his maw, while he felt his mate do the same as an air of energy formed with her own. Storm jerked as her eyes shot towards him, causing the kit to skirt back a step. 

“Such a brave, yet bold little kit you have here. So bold, yet foolish courage if not tempered.” Luna’s glare somehow managed to intensify even further, even as the shade retreated back to a comfortable distance. 

“Worry not, I have no interest in tormenting the spirits of you nor your family here today.” Luna’s fangs bared, taking a step closer to the shade as the area around her seemed to warp as she took a flank.

“First tell me who and what you are. Then explain why you are here ghost. Be quick about it, for my patience is not infinite.” The ghost lips pulled up even higher, Streak feeling the agitation of his mate bleeding through the connection as he likewise took a flank at a distance about equal to the shade and his kits. 

“Oh don’t be so hostile little eeveelutions. I promise that I come in peace. Unless of course, you do not.” She said, bobbing around with a flourish of her form.

“Get to the point or I’ll make you eat a shadow ball.” Streak growled. The shade sighed, shaking her ‘head’. 

“Oh very well.” She said, flipping over before settling closer to the ground. 

“I am Aria, a shippet hailing from the Hoenn region. More specifically around the moutains near the Eastern Ocean. As for why I am here, I could not help but notice the anger simmering in this little one’s mind. A shuppet such as myself could not simply help but investigate what could anger such a little kit so.” She said, giggling. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Storm’s ears flatten, taking a step back even as he struggled to stay standing. 

Not even a second later, a star materialized and slammed into the ground near where the shuppet floated, sending a burst of concrete into the air. The ghost type remained unphased as Luna bore down on the spirit. 

“State your business or begone shade. You are not here for pleasantries, so please explain in precise detail as to the nature of your business here. Otherwise you will remove yourself from the premises, or so help me Arceus I will end you and send you back to rot with Giratina.” She said, stomping a paw into the ground for good measure. 

The shade for her part just giggled, bobbing and weaving around Luna as the two jumped back to form a wall between her and their kits. 

“Oh spare me the idle threats dear Luna. You wouldn’t dare start launching stars and energy blasts with the humans being so jumpy around here. No, I am here with a purpose.” Streak shot a look to his mate, a wave of concern bleeding off him as he felt Luna’s anger simmer even hotter. 

“You have not earned the privilege of calling me by my name ghost.” Aria responded with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. 

“Such an uptight little psychic. One must wonder if it is just you or the rest of your kind are just this way. I’ve met a psychic once you know, a kadabra who roosted near my haunts. Nice fellow really, definitely was a polite one with good conversation-” 

“Get. To. The. Point!” She shouted, her voice echoing throughout the area, drawing the attention of both human and mon alike to them. The shuppet shook her head. 

“Alright, sheesh! Have it your way Espeon.” She said, her playful smile fading as she fixed them with a stare.

“I come as a representative for the many mons who for one reason or another found their way here. In particular, the ones that have managed to hole up in one of the buildings with some of the humans here. Our leader wanted me to curtsy with you lot so as to establish a dialogue between us. And before you ask, Claude is indeed one of our representatives. I in particular have been sent to test and probe your reaction to me to see how well you would integrate with our camp of mons.” Luna’s hackles lowered, yet she kept an even stare upon the ghost.   
“There are more of you here besides what was mentioned?” Aria nodded. 

“But of course Espeon. More of a scattering of various groups around the area. We however are the main ones coordinating them with the humans so we have some semblance of sanity around here. It wouldn’t do for all of us to run around with our heads cut off while ferals go attacking the humans at will. Seeing as they are so jumpy to shoot first and ask questions later, my job is to round up you lot so you don’t get yourselves killed, and more importantly, to make sure the humans don’t kill us in turn.” Aria paused for a moment, her eyes focusing nowhere in particular before a smile fell upon her lips a moment later. 

“Ah. Speaking of which, it seems we have some new arrivals.” She said, her head turning toward one of the barricades. Streak saw Luna’s eyes widened, his own following right after as he heard a noise from around the corner. 

“Friendlies! Friendlies coming up! We got some civvies here!” The men at the barricade rose to their feet, weapons in a lowered but ready position as they took to their assigned spots. Others moved out to meet the group with supplies in hand with a few mons in tow as the group rounded the corner. Streak blinked. In addition to humans in various states of raggedness, mons of various shapes and types were hooked up next to them, some of which he did not even recognize. 

Three in particular stood out as they took positions overwatching the group along with the armed humans. One was a bouncy looking grass type with a funny cap on their head held what looked like a small child in his arms. Another which was a monstrous looking feraligator with scars running up and down his hide, some fresh and some not. With every step he took, the mon send vibrations through the ground. 

Yet what caught his eye in the middle of the pack was an alakazam furthest back of them, arms folded behind as they passed through the barricade. 

Without any warning, Aria rushed up to the psychic mon. Before either Streak or Luna could even lift a a paw, the shuppet was upon him. Yet to Streak’s shock, the alakazam rose his arms in an embrace as the shuppet slammed into his torso. Aria giggled, swirling around the mon as the alakazam let out a hearty laugh. 

“Aria! Funny to see you out here.” He said, releasing the shuppet from his grasp. Aria just stuck out her tongue at him.

“Wouldn’t miss you for the world you old coot. You’ve been gone for hours! And with all of these poor strays too.” She said, shooting a glance at the humans and other mons in tow. The alakazam shrugged. 

“Oh, just a few we picked up here and there, nothing more too it than that.” Streak shot a bewildered look to Luna, who returned his expression as their kits poked through their legs to see what was going on when several juvenile mons poked through the barricade. Before either knew what was happening, they bolted. 

Not so much as a word left either of their lips as the eevee and other small mons struck up a rapport with each other. Streak stood there for several seconds before shrugging, Luna letting out a sigh of exasperation as they sat down. 

“So… More of them than I thought. Guess this place is really starting to look like a little sanctuary.” 

“Mmm.” Streak grunted, watching their children play from a distance with the other mons before their gazes swept toward the more imposing mons as they fell forward through the barricade, with Aria and the alakazam finishing their embrace. 

“So Aria, how have you been holding up here?” Aria shrugged, pointing her head toward their general direction. 

“As well as can be expected Max. I’m assuming you’ve done well yourself with those psuedo legendaries, right?” He nodded. 

“They were of some trouble to be sure. But with them being so mad, they were relatively easy to dispatch, albeit with a few close calls.” 

“You call that scar on your neck a close call?” Aria deadpanned. A glimmer of mirth fell into the psychic’s eyes. 

“Indeed.” Streak’s back straightened as his eyes fell upon them. 

“I see you have found some new guests to settle in our abode.” Aria shrugged, pulling his hand toward them with the cowl of her ‘dress’. The two bodyguards meanwhile dispersed in their own direction, human child still in tow as they went into one of the nearby tents. Streak shot a look to Luna, who shrugged. 

“So, it seems we are not the only ones to get along despite our typing.” 

“Is it so unusual Streak? If any human led team could do so, it would not be out of the question to see it done with those mons outside them.” Streak shook his head. 

“Still weird to see trainerless mons cooperating like this. Even with just us, we’re only together because we compliment each other in form and function as Eons.” He shook his head. “To have free mons like that is utterly unheard of, at least back in Johto.” 

“In Johto, yes.” Both turned their heads to see the alakazam and his bodyguards from before towering over them. Streak took a step back on instinct, the psychic smiling at them in response. 

“But friendships between those of unusual typing is more common than you think.” He paused for a moment before blinking. 

“Ah yes, where are my manners? I am Maxwell, an alakazam from the Hoenn region. I see you have already been acquainted with Aria here.” He said, gesturing to the shuppet as she settled on his head. 

“Yes...” Streak said, eyeing them up and down. “We’ve been acquainted.” 

Luna bowed her head. 

“It’s an honor to meet one such as yourself Alakazam. I have not met a psychic in my lifetime with your stature.” Maxwell let loose a dignified chuckle.   
“Now, now. No need to prostrate yourself before me young Espeon. I assure you the pleasure is all mine. It’s nice to see a family whole and intact for a change.” He said, tone growing wistful as he looked upon the many humans and mons around them. Streak felt his face flush as he and Luna shot a glance at their kits. 

“Wait… Do you mean to imply...” Streak uttered, leaving the rest unspoken. It was the breloom who spoke next as he stepped forward.

“You guys are very lucky to still be together. Whatever caused us to be dropped into this strange new land has had families torn apart and scattered.” He said, trailing off as his eyes fell upon the human children playing with young mons. 

“Or worse.” The rest went unsaid, the rest of his implication clear as day. Streak felt Luna loose an involuntary shudder through their connection as she firmed herself up. 

“I see. It seems Ho-Oh smiles upon us still if nothing else.” She said, invoking the symbol of the Phoenix. The feraligator let out a huff, causing Luna to flinch. 

“As if. This Arceus forsaken place has been anything but welcoming.” He pointed to beyond the barricade. 

“You’ve seen what its like out there. It seems ever damned human has one of those thundersticks. Some places are too dangerous for us mons to go out to without being shot at.” He then pointed to the behemoths standing tall at the barricade, their snouts pointed at the ready for whatever mon was foolish enough to step into their line of sight. 

“Then there are those things that can tank an Arceus damned hyper beam.” He hissed. 

Streak and Luna’s jaws fell in unison as they processed the statement. 

“Come again?” Luna uttered, blinking as the words rang through her mind before shaking her head.

“I don’t believe I heard you correctly. You said those one of those machines managed to take a hyperbeam and survive intact?” The stare the gator gave them said what went unspoken. 

“You can’t be serious.” Streak muttered, looking between the feraligator and the human vehicle several times. 

“I can believe them being able to take some serious punishment. But a hyper beam? I can believe it if it was from a mon not using it for the fir-

“It didn’t come from a runt trying to harness it for the first time.” The water type grunted. 

The two of them paused, looking to each other and then to the feraligator as Maxwell strode up to them. 

“I can see you are rather incredulous about Gaius’s claim. To answer your question, we did see one of those human tanks managed to take a hit in the side from a rhydon. To be sure, it did slag off some of the armor and immobilized it by shredding both the wheel and track, but otherwise it was no worse for wear. The rhydon who fired it was not so lucky when the humans inside the tank returned the favor.” He said, shaking his head. 

“To be fair, you did managed to raise a light screen before impact Alakazam. Otherwise those humans probably would have probably been cooked.” The breloom commented, shooting one of the vehicles a glance. 

“That, and the rhydon itself managed to raise a light screen to protect itself. Albeit that only caused the shell to shatter and perforated the poor bastard when it exploded on impact. Didn’t do too much to the outer shell, but the eyes...” 

“Don’t forget, even if it did survive unscathed, those things still pack an explosive wallop.” Gaius muttered, stroking his chin. “So even if you did protect yourself from the shell, you’d still have to deal with the shockwave fucking with your organs.”

“Hey, don’t forget that dumb brute that tried to charge us point blank that one time. That one didn’t shield in time. I’ve seen nasty messes before, but hoo boy, there was nothing but red splatter everywhere. A little there, a little here, a little on me.” Aria chimed in, a thoughtful look on her face. 

“I mean, a mon could probably survive a strike if prepared with excellent technique. But then again, that’s assuming you take em by surprise.” Breloom said, kicking a stone down a drainage section. 

“Don’t forget that hyperbeam looked a little weak too. Seems the runt didn’t completely master it, and it was fired from a ways off. The humans aren’t taking any chances after that though. Spooked em real good to start shooting anything big and lumbering if they think its an enemy.” Feraligator muttered as he looked back at the barricade. 

“Still, fragile or not, those humans can pack a punch with their technology when they mean it. That isn’t even their most powerful weapon, right?” Breloom shrugged. 

“Beats me-” Breloom blinked as he looked back at them. 

“Hey, you okay?”

Streak and Luna blinked, the latter flattening her ears as she looked upon the three mons and then the human “tanks”.

“I-… I don’t know. I certainly can feel the blooded aura off those humans. But if what you are saying is true-” She shook her head. 

“Humans fending us off with such contempt already makes me feel ill at ease. My question is hwy they would need such power? Are the threats here really that great to warrant their existence? Surely they should have some mons at their side capable of dealing with such threats without the need for creating those horrid monsters.” She shuddered. 

“What Pokemon could be so great as to give reason for their making? There cannot be any other explanation other than some mon so terrible as to give even a gyarados pause.” 

The breloom and feraligator looked at each other for a moment before the former coughed. 

“About that. Apparently whatever this place is… Uh… Well, how do I even say-”

“Pokemon don’t exist here. At all.” Gaius cut in. 

Whatever Streak and Luna were thinking ran into a screeching halt as their eyes bolted to him. 

“What.” 

“You heard me. We don’t exist here. Not even so much as a pitiful caterpie or rattata.” 

“You’re joking.” Streak said, unable to believe the utter tarous shit that fell from the water type’s maw. But as the feraligator continued to look at him with a dead on expression, the umbreon’s psyche began to shake, his eyes widening as the breloom gave a helpless shrug. 

“Oh Arceus. You two are serious.” He mumbled, his gaze falling downward as Luna prodded him in concern. He looked toward Maxwell, hoping against hope whatever was just said had been a cruel joke to mess with them. But Maxwell shook his head. 

“Indeed. By in large, we only seem to exist here as fictional creatures. The actual fauna here is decidedly more mundane in many senses than where we are from.” 

“Fictional.” Streak repeated, letting the word roll through his tongue as he blinked once more. Aria snickered. 

“You want to know what the real kicker is? We exist only as entertainment for children and overgrown human man children.” She said, punctuating the last word with a sing song voice that oozed with cruel delight. Streak stumbled back in a daze, his ability to process anything else made moot by the shock that went through his system. 

How? 

How could any of this be? 

It was one thing to not have Pokemon exist. He could on some level believe that. 

But as a child’s source of entertainment? 

How did that even work? 

“It just does.” 

Streak blinked, realizing he said those words aloud as Gaius looked upon him with pity. 

“It isn’t so bad.” He shrugged. “The humans are somewhat receptive to us in that we already have a foothold in their minds. As long as we don’t go slaughtering them or doing anything that pisses em off too much, we find that we can work with them.” Luna pulled back, her lips curling downward. 

“I need proof. Your surface thoughts and emotions are telling, but… I can’t just accept such an asinine premise on face value.” Gaius shrugged. 

“You’ll soon find out either way Espeon. It was a sobering experience when we first found out, but we adapted. And-… Actually, I believe you’ve had enough epiphanies today. You’ll find out the rest in due time.” 

“There’s more? How many?” Streak demanded when he felt Luna prod at him. 

Focus.

Streak paused, drawing in a deep breath before sighing as he linked in with his mate. 

They just needed to rest and mediate on this. 

All would be revealed in time. For what more could they want when food, water and shelter were present when they could remain safe with their kits?

As long as all that remained true, all else was secondary. All would reveal itself in time. 

Streak opened his eyes, exhaling before looking back up to the four.

“I- I believe Espeon and I need some time to process all of this, considering we were dropped here without warning half a day cycle ago, Arceus knows why.” Maxwell gave a sage nod. 

“A wise decision. Why don’t the both of you rest for a bit? We’ll make sure the both of you and your kits are well cared for, at least for the foreseeable feature. In the meantime, we’ll try to work out an acceptable arrangement with the humans until all of this blows over. But for now, it seems we’re stuck here for the time be-” Maxwell paused, ear flickering as his head turned down to the direction of the barriacde. The other three mons noticed and reacted as one, their forms curling up with energy as claws flared open, their forms tense as Maxwell’s eyes narrowed. The rest of those nearby having noticed the mons tensing up got up, humans readying weapons, while the mons around them readied themselves in whatever fashion their forms allowed them to do so. 

“Something is coming.” In that very moment, those at the barricade exploded into action, weapons readying as humans and mons alike manned their stations. Out of the corner of his eyes, Streak saw one of the humans marching up to him, a grim look to his features. 

“How many and what?” 

The psychic raised a hand, eyes closed as his ears continued to flicker before they opened just as they closed. 

“Several. Dangerous ones.” That was all the human needed to hear as he nodded.

“Very well then. We’ll roll out the welcome mat for our coming guests.” He said as Sergeant Randell further away talked with his black box. 

“… Coming this way? We got it. They’ll be taken care of. Out.” The radio went dead silent as he looked up at his counterpart. 

“Well Sergeant Finch, looks like we got company. We got a whole load of beasties coming our way. Our boys in the other units are moving to take care of them, but they say a few of them are going to make it through from the mass teleport. Big ones too.” He smirked. 

“Unfortunately for them, we just so happen to be here.” He said, patting the tank next to him. All the while anyone who didn’t have a weapon or was otherwise a mon incapable of fighting fled the area, taking cover in the buildings nearby. Tubes were shouldered, long stationary snouts pulled and aimed down the barricade’s line of entry, weapons shouldered as the barricade’s sentry post waited as other soldiers and mons moved up to join them. A few fliers took to the skies, forming into a formation as they flew to the skytop of the human buildings on either side of the roadway. 

Finch for his part nodded. 

“Poor bastards. I almost feel sorry for them.” He grin, a menace bleeding through his voice. 

“Almost.” 

“Arent’t you at least a little worried? Getting a little cocky there.” 

“Course I am . But we got a good bulwark there with fine lines of fire. Anything that tries to roll up that roadway is going to get hammered and hammered until there ain’t nothing left but little bits of flesh and bone to pick up. I’d hate to be one of the poor fucks that tries to argue with two barrels 120mm canister and HE. Not to mention everything else pointed down that way.” He paused. 

“That said, perhaps we should have our representatives cool things down if we can help it.” Randell nodded, glancing toward the group of mons. Maxwell nodded in return. 

“That’s our cue. With any luck, there won’t be any bloodshed.” He glanced back towards the two eeveelutions. 

“I suggest you and your family take cover. Gaius, Julius, to our stations!” He barked. With that, they were off, with Aria peeling off elsewhere unseen. 

Streak and Luna looked at each other as the trio trodded off to the front. Their kits along with the others were being herded off into some safe shelter. All the wile the big thundersticks on the tanks waited for the moment to unleash their fury. Nothing was spoken between the two, but both made a silent agreement to observe what was to come, if only to confirm what was said earlier. 

The two took cover behind a nearby barricade, sliding into place while they saw Maxwell concentrating on what was to come. He waited for a few moments until Aria popped up next to him.

“Are they in any mood to talk?” A loud roar was heard, followed by a loud boom. Aria glanced at the source before shooting Maxwell a flat stare. 

“Judging by the loud racket they are making, I’d say no. All I did was ask them to cool it so we could talk it out like civilized mons. They just threw a car at me in response before following it up with a hyper beam. Didn’t have any time to leave them with a parting gift, sadly enough. Just plain rude of them to talk to a lady like that.” Max sighed, massaging his temple before drawing his spoons from their impromptu holster. 

“Very well. If they will not see reason through words, then we shall confront them with extreme violence.” Gaius growled, cracking both of his fists together as a feral grin fell upon his lips. 

“Good. I’ve been looking for a good fight since the last one petered out so quickly.” Julius rolled his eyes.

“You and your wanton violence.” Gaius chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. 

“Like you don’t enjoy it at all.” The grass type paused for a moment before shooting back his own grin.   
“Point. I do look forward to seeing you crack some skulls with that tail of yours. It’s a sight to behold when you send them flying. Think you can send them into the river nearby?”

“Maybe.” Julius cracked his own knuckles, tail thumping on the ground. 

“Well, let’s see how many we can take together shall we? Maybe it’ll be another golem stupid enough to go for your tail again.” Gaius shrugged. 

“We’ll soon find out.” He said, prepping into a battle stance as several large forms lumbered around the corner. 

Streak’s eyes widened, as did everyone else who was present. 

“Holy shit.” Someone muttered. 

Indeed. Several tyrannitar stomped up the roadway, uncaring as to the damage done to it or the nearby vehicles as they were slammed into nearby buildings or stomped on. Quite a few caught on fire, one even exploding as it hit a fire hydrant. 

Streak paled as the three biggest of them all strode up until they came to a stop a fair distance away from the barricade as he began to take a step back. While he may not have cared too much for the humans, if those…

“We need to leave.” He muttered. “They’re going to tear this entire place apart-” 

He stopped, bones chilled as the lead tyrannitar let out a boisterous growl. 

“Well, well, well. More humans stand in our path.” He glanced at the mons standing at the barricade. 

“And with slaves at their beck and call too. How quaint.” He laughed. Streak growled, his earlier cowardice stowed as he rose up to greet him. 

“We are not slaves!” Streak snarled, jumping on top of the barricade even as he felt Luna pull back in alarm. The tyrannitar chuckled in amusement. 

“What’s this? A pup who has taken a liking to his new masters?” 

“That pup is a guest along with all the others who shelter here. I know not hwy you move to slay these humans here, but you court their wrath with your every action.” At that, all the tyrannitar in the formation let loose a laugh that shook the very earth beneath them even as the mons who could pulled their energies to lance them the moment things took off. 

“With what? Their weapons are pathetic, the stones which they loose bounce off our mighty hides. Their flesh is as weak as ever, their wretchedness clear as day. Do you mean to stake your skin on those that would enslave us? How amusing.” 

“You won’t live long enough to regret that insult.” The tyrannitar inched his head to the side as Gaius strode forward, fists at the ready as his tail slammed into the ground, leaving a spider crack in its place. 

“And what do you mean by that Feraligator?”

“Your death.” In that instance, Maxwell’s eyes glowed, a shroud engulfing all except the metal beasts. Just as the tyrannitar began to react, Luna and Streak were knocked to the ground as the trunks of said vehicles let loose their salvos. Soon after, others joined the fray as beams of energy and whatever else were loosed in their general direction. Small projectiles from the human weapons flew forward as those who took position on the rooftops dove down, loosing their own beams of energy. 

In their arrogance, the tyrannitar took no measures to protect themselves except those at the very front. Howls of rage and pain were heard fell silent just as it came as those at the rear were obliterated by a combined barrage of human fire and Pokemon wrath. Those that managed to raise some form of protection or find their forms proof against the fire counter charged, beams of energy or nearby objects used as projectiles as those on the other side of the barricade were forced back into cover. One of the human snouts set upon an elevated platform was vaporized, its human operator having just jumped in the nick of time as it and the area around ceased to exist. 

Others however were not so lucky, several of the human defenders vanishing in a ball of fire as a vehicle send toward them was exploded by the lead tyrannitar in midair with a beam of light. Streak’s face fell at the sudden onslaught, only to let out a sigh of relief as he saw the fireball disappear, revealing a ball of protective energy shielding the humans behind it. Maxwell’s eyes glowed, spoons warping with raw power as he loosed a charge of energy that send one of the hostile mons careening toward a car that was exploded later as a human launched missile was loosed from a human directly next to Streak. He smiled, only for it to fade as one of the tyrannitar looked in his general direction and charged. Alarmed, the human fell back, only to trip and hit the ground back first as it came through the barricade with speed that should not have been possible. 

Just as the mon was about to stomp the human into paste however, a shadow ball found its mark as the beast stumbled backward. He glared at the source, finding Streak readying up another shadow ball. Roaring, he charged, only to be knocked off balance as a green blur slammed into his hide. Julius let loose a war cry as his fists turned into a blur, a thousands blows pounding at the hide in quick succession before slamming his tail into the monster’s head. 

A crack was heard as head found concrete, and before it could react, Gaius stomped his foot into the monster. The head splattered, coating Streak and those nearby with blood as the two charged into their respective foes. 

The lead tyrannitar roared, slashing several humans and mons close to him who he had managed to reach. The victims fell to the ground, their torsos and heads separated as the beast exploded into a whirlwind of utter carnage. 

Streak paled, seeing so much death in so quick a fashion, the food from earlier threatening to loose from his muzzle as he struggled to form another shadow ball when a bright flash of light slammed into the lead beast. Streak winced, closing his eyes on instinct as a solar beam splashed against his eyes. Roaring, the beast charged until one of the human vehicles let loose a roar of its own and charged. Surprised, the beast had no time to react as the sixty two ton tank slammed into its opposition. Despite the great weight of the vehicle, the tyrannitar managed to bring it to a halt as two claws slammed into the vehicles carapace. He grinned, maw glowing hot as he prepared to loose a beam of death point blank when a great scream echoed through the air. Everyone within its vicinity cringed, ears ringing as Aria popped up from behind and loosed a shadow ball to the back of the green beast. Enraged, the leader beast managed to hurl the tank to the side by several feet, turning his rage upon the one who struck him when vines erupted from the ground and ensnared him. 

Claude burst in from the side from a place unseen, fangs wide open as he loosed a solar beam point blank at the great beast. Yet his efforts were in vain as the tyrannitar roared, ripping the vines away and slammed his fist into Claude’s snout. The serperior was sent slamming into the ground, form unmoving as the tyrannitar moved to stomp on him. 

Before Streak knew what was happening, his form blurred. 

Darkness fell. 

Darkness came. 

Shroud of shadows pulled him forward, closer and closer to the green form. 

Then, he was upon his prey, loosing forth a shadow of energy point blank just as the foot reached Claude. His foe roared, stumbling back from the blow as Streak bounced off the carapace and ran to the beast’s rear, another shadow ball readying in his maw went he found himself sailing into the air. Streak blinked, his side erupting into pain as a green tail slammed him into the concrete nearby. 

Streak gasped, struggling to breath, his ears ringing as he struggled to get up, only to find a fist constrict around his throat. He flailed, paws scraping at the air as he came face to face with the beast in question. He grinned, claws ready to sink into his hide even as faded for risk of hitting Streak when his form dropped to the ground. Streak blinked, his eyes bleeding tears as he looked up to see the tyrannitar clutching at his throat, eyes bulging as a psychic aura grabbed at it. Looking up, he saw Luna scream in concentration as her gem shrouded the area in red light, beads of sweat rolling down her fur coat. Before Streak could so much as act, his form was grabbed by Claude as the serpent slithered back to their lines. 

Right after that out of the corner of his eyes, the tank from which had been hurled before had pulled out from where it was thrown, its snout turning to level with the tyrannitar. 

Then, it fired. 

With carapace so hot, with shields so null, the round found purchase upon the tyrannitar’s form. The beast exploded into a gyser of smoke and blood, carapace shattering as pieces were flung in shrapnel in all directions. 

Most of it was directed away from anyone within range, and whatever else pinged off harmlessly by shields of the mons who rose them. When the smoke cleared, Streak saw that the top half of the tyrannitar had simply ceased to exist. For a brief moment, the bottom half wobbled as it struggled to carry out the directives sent from a brain moments before. 

Then, the form toppled to the ground. 

Streak stared, looking at the carnage around him as he blinked, realizing the battle which just occurred a few minutes before had ended just as it came. Doing a quick head count, he saw that most of the humans and mons that participated had somehow survived, with only those closest to the barricade or stupid enough to charge in laying dead on the ground. Many more of that number however bled wounded on the ground, attended to by medics and whatever mons whose abilities were able to lend their aid, Luna among them as she forced herself to work in treating one of the bleeding humans. 

For a few seconds, Streak held himself up. 

Then he slumped, exhaustion taking its toll as he heard Claude chuckle. 

“Well mousier, it seems we have survived.”

“Barely.” Streak gasped. Claude patted him on the head as Streak’s form was laid flat on a bed nearby. 

“Indeed. Though I must wonder why we asked in such a poor position.”

“To keep them in one place for one.” He heard Maxwell said, striding up to them as he glanced down at the two of them. 

“We… I underestimated them. I thought we would have caught all of them in a crossfire that would have fell their number before they would come upon us. I had consulted with Sergeant Randell and Sergeant Finch, and they agreed to my plan.” He sighed, running a palm down his face. 

“I should have realized their number would have shield techniques and hardened carapaces to match. If nothing else though, we shall be ready for the future to come.” 

“Indeed.” Aria said, floating next to them. “Our dead aren’t that high, surprisingly enough. Most of the critically wounded we managed to stabilize through the use of human medicine and that of our splendid medical mons lending their aid and strength them. Needless to say, the humans are thankful for what we are able to provide.” She pointed her head towards Streak. 

“Your mate in particular is working herself to the bone to save the survivors, despite her earlier weariness. I must say, I am rather shocked to see she is pushing herself to such levels so steadily.” Streak’s head bolted up in alarm. 

“Wait, what? Why is-” Streak blinked, his vision blurring as drowsiness took hold of his mind. 

“Ah, ah, ah. A little warrior such as you needs their rest. So sleep and slumber little one, for we have much to talk about when you awake.” 

So exhausted from the previous ordeal, Streak’s vision faded.

Then, all was darkness.


End file.
